High School
Many high school seniors with disabilities are preparing to graduate and transition to postsecondary institutions. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA, 2004), secondary programs are required to provide each student with disabilities a Summary of Performance (SOP) as their primary disability documentation. Unfortunately, many times the SOP does not match the documentation requirements at postsecondary institutions or for entrance level examinations. The student with disabilities cannot access accommodations at a postsecondary setting or on high-stakes examinations (e.g. SAT, ACT, GED, Compass) without the support of specific documentation requirements. The UGA RCLD’s Student Transition Evaluation for Postsecondary Success (STEPS) program assists high school juniors and seniors with disabilities transition to postsecondary education by providing documentation that meets the postsecondary requirements for access to accommodations.
Policies
Process Flowchart
Parental Permission for Referral
To be eligible for testing at the UGA RCLD, a secondary student must be a junior or senior in a secondary institution (public or private) in the state of Georgia.
Students can be referred to the UGA RCLD by several sources. This includes but is not limited to the following:
- Public school secondary transitional team working with a student on Summary of Performance (IDEIA, 2004) documentation.
- Public school professionals not involved with SOP documentation.
- Private secondary transitional team.
- Private family.
The appropriate school (secondary), agency (Vocational Rehabilitation), or family will contact the UGA RCLD to obtain a referral packet. The packet must be completed and returned to the UGA RCLD.
Back to FlowchartObtain Referral Packet
The referral packet includes:
- Accommodation Approval form
- Release of Information form
- Case history
- ADHD Behavior Checklist (self-report)
- ADHD Behavior Checklist (significant other)
- Written Language Checklist
- Payment
Additional information required:
- Hearing and Visual Screening
- Sample of Unassisted Writing
- Sample of Best Writing
- Transcripts
- Past Evaluations / Pertinent Medical Records
- Foreign Language Problems
Return Completed Packet
Once the referral packet is complete:
- Return the completed packet to the UGA RCLD.
- All information will be kept as confidential as state and federal regulations allow.
- The student and parents must give permission in writing in order to be evaluated.
Packet Sent to RCLD for Appointment
After the disability service provider forwards the packet to the UGA RCLD:
- The UGA RCLD contacts the student to schedule the first of two evaluation appointments.
- If important information is missing from the packet, the RCLD will collect if from the student prior to scheduling.
- Payment (or Vocational Rehabilitation Authorization for Services form) is due prior to scheduling.
- Evaluations are scheduled throughout the fiscal year rather than the academic calendar.
- Evaluations are usually conducted at the UGA RCLD or the local Vocational rehabilitation facility (depending on available resources).
Evaluation Phases I and II
Two Phase Evaluation Process:
- Phase I: Clinical interview, testing of academic achievement in core areas (i.e., reading, math, and written language), and self-report questionnaires. This appointment lasts 4-5 hours.
- Phase II: A battery of cognitive and other psychological tests to assess a student's cognitive abilities, strengths, and weaknesses in processing abilities, and other psychological factors that might impact learning. This appointment also lasts 4-5 hours.
Results
After the evaluation is complete:
- The UGA RCLD reviews the results and provides telephone feedback, typically in about one week.
- A comprehensive report is written.
- The student is offered an individual feedback session with a staff member. The session typically lasts from one to two hours. In this session, the staff member will provide the written report, review the test results, make recommendations for academic accommodations and other support services, and answer any questions. The student may bring anyone to the session. This report will not be shared with anyone else without the student's and parent's written permission.
- Some students prefer to have the report mailed to them and conduct the feedback over the telephone due to travel considerations.