Supporting Student Voice in Transition Planning

Students exiting high school are more likely to have a job and a place to live than when transition planning was first mandated by the Individuals with Dis­ abilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990 and was included in the Amendments of 1997 (20 U.S.C. 1401(a)(19)). Yet a study conducted jointly by the National Orga­ nization on Disability and Louis Harris and Associates (1998) found that adults with disabilities are more likely to be un­ employed, lonely, and unhappy with their lives than are adults without disabilities. The authors stated: Americans with disabilities still face gaps in securing jobs, edu­ cation, accessible transportation and in many areas of daily life in­ cluding recreation and worship. . . . [There are] significant gaps between the employment rates of workers with disabilities and those without disabilities. Only 29% of persons with disabilities of working age (18-64) work full or part-time, compared to 79% of those without disabilities. . . . Of those with disabilities of working age who are not working, 72% say that they would prefer to work. (1998, p. 1)