Transition IEP Goals in Alaska: Planning for Life After High School

By the time a student with a disability reaches high school in Alaska, their IEP should already be mapping a path toward adult life — not just the next grade. Alaska's transition planning requirements begin at age 16, one of the legally mandated components of the IEP that many families don't know to look for until it's nearly too late to use effectively.

What Alaska Requires for Transition Planning

Under 4 AAC 52.145, Alaska requires that IEPs for students aged 16 and older include a secondary transition plan as a formal component of the document. This mirrors the federal IDEA requirement and specifies that the plan must include:

• Measurable post-secondary goals in at least two areas: education or training, and employment. Independent living goals should be included when appropriate.
• Transition services — courses, activities, supports, and external partnerships that will move the student toward those goals
• Agency coordination — identification of outside agencies (like Alaska DVR) that will provide transition services, with documentation that those agencies were invited to participate in IEP planning

The plan must be based on age-appropriate transition assessments — formal or informal assessments of the student's interests, skills, values, and post-secondary preferences. Assessments can include career inventories, vocational evaluations, community-based observations, and interviews with the student. The student's voice is essential: transition goals that don't reflect what the student actually wants are goals the student has no reason to work toward.

What Transition Goals Must Look Like

Transition goals follow the same measurability rules as other IEP goals — they must be specific, observable, and achievable within a defined timeframe. But transition goals have an additional requirement: they must be "measurable post-secondary goals" — goals describing what the student will be doing after leaving secondary school, not just during high school.

Post-secondary education goal example:

• "Following high school graduation, [student] will enroll in a certificate program in [field] at the University of Alaska Fairbanks or UAA."

Employment goal example:

• "Following high school completion, [student] will obtain part-time employment in food service or retail with job coaching support provided through Alaska DVR."

Independent living goal example (when appropriate):

• "Following high school, [student] will live semi-independently in a supported living arrangement, managing daily living routines with weekly check-ins from a support person."

These post-secondary goals then generate the in-school transition services designed to move the student toward them — coursework, job shadowing, community-based instruction, self-advocacy training, independent living skill instruction.

Annual IEP Transition Goals (In-School)

Within the IEP, transition services generate annual goals that address the skills needed to meet the post-secondary outcomes. These should be written with the same measurability as any other IEP goal:

Employment preparation:

• "By [date], [student] will complete a job application form and a practice interview with a school-based job developer, with coaching, in 3 of 4 opportunities."
• "By [date], [student] will identify 3 career areas of interest and research the educational requirements for entry-level positions in each field, as measured by a completed career exploration worksheet."

Post-secondary education preparation:

• "By [date], [student] will independently research 2 post-secondary programs related to stated career goals and create a written summary of admission requirements, accommodations available, and estimated costs."
• "By [date], [student] will demonstrate use of 3 self-advocacy strategies (identifying disability impact, requesting accommodations, using campus support services) in a simulated college scenario, with 80% accuracy."

Independent living:

• "By [date], [student] will independently manage a monthly budget of fixed expenses using a planning tool, with 90% accuracy across 3 consecutive monthly assessments."
• "By [date], [student] will plan and prepare a complete meal using a recipe with no more than 1 adult prompt, across 3 consecutive opportunities."

Self-determination and self-advocacy:

• "By [date], [student] will describe their disability, its impact on learning, and 3 strategies they use to address it, without prompts, in a practice self-disclosure scenario."
• "By [date], [student] will lead their own IEP meeting for at least 15 minutes, presenting goals and progress using a prepared outline."

Alaska-Specific Transition Resources

Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR). DVR provides services to Alaskans with disabilities who are preparing for employment — including transition-age youth still in high school. DVR can fund job training, supported employment, assistive technology, and post-secondary education expenses. DVR must be invited to participate in IEP meetings when DVR services are anticipated. Families should connect with their local DVR counselor no later than 16, and ideally earlier.

Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation (TVR). For Alaska Native students, the Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation program provides similar services through tribal organizations. TVR serves Alaska Native and American Indian individuals and can coordinate with school-based transition services. Students eligible for both DVR and TVR should understand both programs and how they can work together.

Johnson-O'Malley (JOM) funding. JOM funding supports educational programs for Alaska Native students and can provide cultural programming and supplementary support. For Alaska Native transition-age students, JOM programs may provide culturally grounded career exploration, traditional skills integration, and community connection activities that complement IEP transition goals.

No alternate diploma in Alaska. Alaska does not offer an alternate diploma for students with significant disabilities. Under 4 AAC 06.078, students who cannot complete standard coursework requirements may graduate using substitute courses — alternative courses that address the same skills or learning areas. Students who complete a modified program may receive a Certificate of Completion rather than a standard diploma, which can affect post-secondary educational eligibility and employer perceptions. Families should understand this distinction early in high school planning.

Geographic challenges for rural transition. In urban Alaska, job shadowing and community-based vocational instruction are accessible. In bush Alaska, those options may be severely limited. The IEP should address how transition goals will be pursued given community context — and distance learning, teleconference-based vocational exploration, or summer program placements may need to be part of the plan.

When Transition Planning Is Missing or Inadequate

If your child is 16 or older and their IEP does not include a transition plan section, the IEP is legally non-compliant under 4 AAC 52.145. Request an IEP meeting in writing to add the required transition components.

Common inadequacies in transition plans:

• Post-secondary goals are vague ("will get a job") rather than specific and measurable
• Transition services are limited to graduation credit counting and no actual skill-building activities
• DVR or other agencies have not been invited to participate
• The student's own expressed interests were not assessed or incorporated
• The plan doesn't address independent living when those skills are an area of need

The Alaska IEP & 504 Blueprint includes a transition planning guide, sample post-secondary goals, and a checklist for reviewing whether your child's transition IEP meets Alaska's requirements.

For a broader overview of transition IEP goals, see our guide to transition IEP goals.

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