New Mexico Early Childhood
Transition Inititative
The 90-Day
Transition
Conference
A Guidance Document
2005
Jointly sponsored by
NM Department of Health-Family Infant Toddler Program
And
NM Public Education Department-Special Education Bureau
This document was produced by the
Preschool Network at the University of New Mexico
Center for Development and Disability
Table of Contents
GUIDANCE DOCUMENT..………………………………………………………………….. 3
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
The 90-Day Transition Conference………………………………………………………. 4
Before the 90-Day Transition Conference……………………………………………….. 4
90-Day Transition Conference Participants…………………………………………….. 5
Early Intervention Participants………………………………………………………… 6
LEA Participants………………………………………………………………………… 7
Head Start, Even Start, Private Pre-School, Childcare……………………………. 8
Transfer of Information……………………………………………………………………. 9
Partial List of Parent’s Rights……………………………………………………………... 9
90-Day Transition Conference Outcomes………………………………………………. 10 RESOURCES………………………………………………………………………………… 12 REFERENCE MATERIAL.…………………………………………………………………… 13
Laws and Regulations Pertaining to Transition.……………………………………….. 14
NM State Law and IDEA Part B……………………………………………………… 14
IDEA Part B - 2004 Reauthorization…………………………………………………. 19
New Mexico Special Education Regulations………………………………………… 20
NM State Law and IDEA Part C…………………………………….………………… 22
IDEA Part C - 2004 Reauthorization…………………………………………………. 23
New Mexico Family Infant Toddler Regulations…………………………………….. 25
Early Childhood Guidance on NM Regulations (FAQ)…………………………………. 27
PED Memo re: Services to Two Year Olds……………………………………………… 31
SPED Memo re: Role of Related Service Providers……………………………………. 33
SPED Memo re: FAX about LRE, Placement and Inclusion…………………………… 36
Making the Choice: A side-by-side comparison of Part C Early
Intervention services to Part B Special Education services.…………………………. 39 TOOL KIT SECTION….……………………………………………………………………….. 43
At-A-Glance Guide to the Transition Process…………………………………………… 44
Transition Timeline Calculation Table………………………………….………………… 46
Transition Tracking Form………………………………………………………………….. 47
Classroom Visit Checklist………………………………………………………………….. 48
Transition Summary from FIT to LEA……………………………………………………. 50
90-Day Transition Conference Sample Agenda………………………………………… 53
90-Day Conference Meeting Signature Page…………………………………………. 55
Child’s Needs in Transition to Preschool Form...……………………………………….. 56
Special Education Services Eligibility Determination Form.....……………………….. 57
Early Intervention IFSP Transition Plan Page…………………………………………… 58
Sample: Family Infant Toddler IFSP and Preschool IEP..…………………………….. 60
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90-Day Transition Conference Guidance Document – February 2005
Introduction
Transition from early intervention services to another setting is a process. It begins with discussions about the process between a child’s family and the service coordinator and ends when a child has successfully moved from one setting to another. There are regulations that guide the transition process. The timing of each activity and event needs to be well thought out and carefully planned. Collaboration and communication among community partners and families is key to a successful transition. A crucial step in the transition process is the 90-day transition conference – so called
because of the regulation that states that the conference must be convened at least 90 days before whichever comes first – the anticipated date of transition or the child’s third birthday. The importance of this meeting cannot be underestimated as far as its impact on ensuring uninterrupted services for a child and his/her family. Collaborating partners coalesce, during this time, to ensure the continuity of services. How this meeting is
planned and conducted is pivotal to ensuring a smooth and effective transition for a child and his/her family.
This guidance document, the resource material and the accompanying tool kit will provide tips and strategies for facilitating and participating in an effective 90-day transition conference that ultimately results in a successful transition for a child and his/her family.
“If you don’t know where you’re going,
you’ll probably end up somewhere else.”
-David P. Campbell
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90-Day Transition Conference Guidance Document – February 2005
THE 90-DAY TRANSITION CONFERENCE
The 90-day transition conference is an individualized, face-to-face meeting in which
parents and relevant representatives from community programs (i.e., public school, Head Start, childcare, etc.) come together to discuss the actions, events and activities that need to occur in order to facilitate a smooth and effective transition. It is the responsibility of the early intervention program to arrange, coordinate and facilitate this meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to ensure continuous services for an eligible child and his/her family. There are regulations that guide the process. (See state law and transition regulations included in the Reference Material section.) The purpose of the 90-day transition conference is to:
； Review service/program options for a family;
； Renew, revise or establish a transition plan;
； Support the determination of whether or not the child meets criteria for eligibility for
Part B services; and
； Coordinate transition activities to ensure continuity of services.
BEFORE THE 90-DAY TRANSITION CONFERENCE
In preparation for the 90-day transition conference, the service coordinator from the early intervention program will have already completed several steps in the transition process with the child and his/her family. (See At-A-Glance Guide to the Transition
Process, Transition Calculation Table and Transition Tracking Form in the Tool Kit
section.) Together, the family and service coordinator will already have: ； Discussed the transition process, regulations, activities, timelines and service
options;
； Discussed parent’s rights and obtained appropriate consent forms;
； Developed a transition plan as part of the child’s IFSP;
； Discussed and explored future service needs, settings and options including one or
a combination of any of the following:
o Head Start
o Part B Public School Special Education Preschool Classroom
o Childcare Center or Family Childcare Home
o Even Start
o Private Preschool
o In-Home Services
o New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
o New Mexico School for the Deaf
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90-Day Transition Conference Guidance Document – February 2005
Determine when and where the 90-Day Conference will take place and who should ；
be invited to participate. (See Early Childhood Guidance on NM Regulations in the
Reference Material section.);
； With parental consent, referred the child to the local education agency; and ； With parental consent, transferred appropriate and relevant records generated by
the early intervention program.
These tools, located in the Tool Kit section, will be useful in preparing for the 90-Day conference.
？ At-A-Glance Guide to the Transition Process-Provides a practical step-by-step
overview of the transition process. Describes the transition activity, when it should
occur, who is involved, who is responsible and the objective of that activity.
？ Transition Calculation Table- A useful table to calculate when transition planning
must begin and to calculate the 90-Day Conference date.
？ Transition Tracking Form-A form to track children as they progress through the transition process.
90-DAY TRANSITION CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS
The service coordinator from the early intervention agency works with the child’s family
to develop the 90-day conference participant list. Which participants and agency representatives will depend upon the service(s) needed and the future settings the family has chosen for their child. If the child may be eligible for preschool services that include special education and related services offered through the public schools, then a representative from the schools must be invited to participate in this meeting. If the child is determined eligible for these services, then the local education agency is responsible for coordinating and ensuring that these services occur. Therefore, it is very important that the appropriate representatives from the local education agency participate in the meeting. In addition, the family, along with the service coordinator, may invite representatives from other programs in which their child will be enrolled. For example, if the family has decided that they would like their child to receive services in the Head Start setting, then Head Start representatives as well as representatives from the local education agency should be invited to the conference. The following pages contain suggestions for representation from various agencies/programs and their roles.
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90-Day Transition Conference Guidance Document – February 2005
EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM
Relevant early intervention program participants include:
Conference Participant Role at the Conference
Parents ？ Provide information to the meeting participants about their child and their child’s
needs. (90-Day Conference cannot
take place without the ？ Guide team decisions regarding future settings and transition activities. attendance of the parent.)
？ Give consent when appropriate.
Service Coordinator ？ Schedules the conference, invite participants, establish the agenda and facilitate
the meeting. (Required to participate)
？ Takes and disseminates notes regarding the meeting discussions and decisions.
？ Ensures that future activities are understood by all responsible parties.
？ Updates the child’s transition plan accordingly.
？ Ensures timely transmission of records, if not completed previously.
Early Intervention service ？ Provide information regarding the child’s developmental status, present levels of providers as relevant to the performance, helpful modifications and adaptations to facilitate the child’s growth, child’s IFSP (i.e., PT, OT, SLP, development and participation in learning opportunities.
nurse, DS, family counselor,
etc.)
Other relevant service providers ？ Provide information to participants regarding services provided by their various and agency representatives agencies and how they will collaborate to ensure that the child’s successful (i.e., New Mexico School for the participation in the new environment/setting(s).
Blind & Visually Impaired, New
Mexico School for the Deaf,
Children Youth & Families)
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90-Day Transition Conference Guidance Document – February 2005
LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY
Relevant local education agency representatives include:
Conference Participant Role at the Conference
A district representative with ？ Commits district resources needed to accommodate the child’s transition to a
knowledge of and authority to new setting.
commit district resources
？ Provides information about the program including services, eligibility
requirements and the registration process.
？ If appropriate, determines the date for the IEP meeting.
Discipline specific ancillary staff as ？ Identify equipment and accommodations that may be needed to meet the child’s
relevant to the child’s IFSP (i.e., needs in the new setting enabling him/her to participate in the new setting.
PT, OT, SLP, nurse, social worker,
etc.) ？ Provide information about their role in supporting the child’s development and
learning.
Preschool classroom teacher ？ Provides information about the preschool program, daily activities and routines,
and the general education curriculum.
？ If visits have not already taken place, arranges visits to the preschool to help
acquaint the child and family to the new setting and daily routines.
Professionals qualified to review ？ Determine whether the child meets eligibility criteria for preschool special
existing evaluation data education services or needs further evaluation.
？ Share information with team about the evaluation and assessment process.
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90-Day Transition Conference Guidance Document – February 2005
HEAD START, EVEN START, PRIVATE PRESCHOOL AND CHILDCARE PROGRAMS Relevant Head Start, Private Preschool and Child Care Provider agency representatives include:
Conference Participant Role at the Conference
Head Start, Even Start, childcare, ？ Determines resources needed to accommodate the child’s unique needs in the private preschool program Head Start/Even Start/childcare/private school setting.
administrator
？ Provides information about the program including services, eligibility criteria and
the enrollment process.
？ Brings registration and enrollment packets and discuss and/or make decisions
about the child’s enrollment in the Head Start/Even Start/childcare/private pre-
school program.
Classroom teacher ？ Provides information about the Head Start/Even Start/childcare/private preschool
curriculum, schedules, daily routines and activities.
？ Communicates supports needed to serve the child appropriately in the Head
Start/Even Start/childcare/private school classroom to the team.
？ If visits have not already taken place, arranges visits to help acquaint the child
and family to the new setting and daily routines.
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90-Day Transition Conference Guidance Document – February 2005
TRANSFER OF INFORMATION
The 90-day transition conference is the time to discuss the child’s strengths and needs,
review existing evaluation and assessment information, the current IFSP, and to determine the need, if any, for supplemental evaluation(s). It is also a good time for the team to discuss assistive technology needs; adaptations and modifications to the learning environment; transportation arrangements; possible staff training needs; and possible IEP goals and services. In order to facilitate these discussions and assist in the decision-making process, the information transferred (with parental consent) from the Part C Early Intervention agency to the Part B Local Education Agency should include: ； Signed consent form(s);
； Part C eligibility information including the results of any evaluations and
assessments that have been administered; (See sample form Transition Summary
from FIT to LEA in Tool Kit section);
； A copy of the child’s most current IFSP including a list of services that the child is
presently receiving; (See sample IFSP form in Tool Kit section);
； Hearing and vision status;
； A summary of the child’s developmental status and present levels of performance;
(See sample form Transition Summary from FIT to LEA in Tool Kit section)
； Any other relevant information that the receiving agency(s) may need from the
parents or from other the agencies currently providing services.
This information should be provided to the local education agency in a timely manner to assist the local education agency in determining and making arrangements for appropriate agency representatives to participate in the conference.
Early intervention providers shall not disclose records that did not originate with the provider to any one other than the parent(s). However, they may give the parent(s) a copy of everything contained in their child’s file. Therefore, it is expedient for receiving
agencies to indicate to the early intervention programs the types of information their agency will need in order to enroll the child in their programs. In preparation for the 90-day conference, early intervention programs can help parents gather and bring this information to the meeting. Typically these documents include:
； Child’s birth certificate;
； Up-to-date immunization records;
； Hospital, clinic or other medical records;
； Social Security number;
； Medicaid number (if the child has one);
PARTIAL LIST OF PARENTS’ RIGHTS
Under the Individual’s with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and New Mexico Statutes, parents are ensured specific rights. The following represent some of these rights as they pertain to transition.
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90-Day Transition Conference Guidance Document – February 2005
The parents of an eligible child participating in early intervention services who turns ；
three years of age during the public school year shall have the option of having the
child complete the remainder of the school year in early intervention services or
enrolling the child in the public school’s preschool program. They may elect to enroll
the eligible child in the public school’s preschool special education program from the
beginning of the public school year in accordance with state law.
； Consent (informed written authorization) must be obtained from the parent(s) before
any records can be transferred from the early intervention program to other agencies.
Signing this consent form does not obligate a parent to share all information
generated by the early intervention program. Families may choose to withhold some
information and share other information.
； The parent(s) have the right to decline services even if the child is determined to be
eligible for services.
； To ensure an informed decision, the parent(s) have the right to be informed of all
future program/service options that may be available and appropriate.
； Parents have the right to confidentiality.
90-DAY TRANSITION CONFERENCE OUTCOMES
An effective 90-day conference should have specific outcomes that will ultimately ensure a successful transition for a child and his/her family that results in no delay or interruption in services. The agenda (see 90-Day Transition Conference Sample
Agenda in the Tool Kit section) of the 90-day transition conference should guide the participants to engage in discussions that result in the following decisions and actions: ； Based on the information from the early intervention program and discussions, a
determination that the child meets the eligibility criteria for Part B services or the
need for further evaluations;
； A decision regarding the setting(s) where the child will receive future services; ； The date of transition (when the child will begin receiving services from the new
provider/program);
； An updated transition plan that indicates the specific activities, timelines and
responsible personnel needed in order to ensure uninterrupted, appropriate services.
Examples of activities decided upon by the team may include such things as:
o Supplemental evaluation procedures, times, locations and responsible
staff;
o Scheduled appointments for classroom visits (See Classroom Visit
Checklist in Tool Kit section.);
o IEP meeting scheduled; (See sample Preschool IEP form in Tool Kit
section.)
o Assistive technology needed in the next setting - who will order it and
when; (See Child’s Needs in Transition to Preschool form in Tool Kit
section.)
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90-Day Transition Conference Guidance Document – February 2005