Transition IEP Goals in Connecticut: What Students Age 14+ Need in Their Plans

Your child is turning 14 and the school mentioned something about transition planning being added to the IEP. Or your child is already 15 or 16 and their IEP has vague transition sections that look like they were copied from last year. Connecticut's transition requirements are more demanding than federal law, and many students don't receive the planning they're entitled to. Here is what Connecticut law requires and what good transition planning actually looks like.

Connecticut's Age-14 Transition Requirement

Federal IDEA requires transition planning to begin at age 16. Connecticut goes earlier: transition planning must begin at age 14 under Connecticut regulations. This was reinforced and extended by Public Act 23-137, which also extended FAPE in Connecticut to the end of the school year in which a student turns 22 (rather than the exact birthday).

Starting at age 14, every student's IEP must include:

1. Measurable postsecondary goals in the areas of education/training, employment, and (where appropriate) independent living
2. Transition services — coordinated activities designed to move the student toward those postsecondary goals
3. Course of study — how the student's current coursework supports their postsecondary goals

At 16, federal IDEA adds additional requirements, but Connecticut's age-14 start means the foundational planning must be in place two years before the federal minimum.

What Postsecondary Goals Must Look Like

Postsecondary transition goals are different from IEP academic goals. They describe what the student aims to do after leaving high school — not what they will achieve by the end of the school year. The goals must be:

• Measurable: specific enough that it will be possible to determine whether the student has achieved them
• Based on age-appropriate transition assessment: the student's preferences, interests, and skills must be formally assessed before goals are written
• Coordinated: services, activities, and supports in the IEP must logically lead toward these goals

A measurable postsecondary goal: "After completing high school, [student] will enroll in a supported employment program and obtain part-time employment in the food service industry."

A goal that is not measurable: "[Student] will obtain employment after high school."

The goal must address each required domain. Education or training goals might include community college enrollment, vocational certification programs, adult education, or supported adult learning programs. Employment goals specify the type of work environment and level of support. Independent living goals (required only when appropriate given the student's needs) might address housing, transportation, financial management, or daily living skills.

Age-Appropriate Transition Assessment

Before writing any transition goals, the team must conduct age-appropriate transition assessments — structured processes for identifying the student's preferences, interests, strengths, and needs in the areas of employment, education, and independent living. This is not optional, and it is not satisfied by asking the student "what do you want to do after school?"

Appropriate assessment tools include:

• Interest inventories and career exploration tools
• Self-determination assessments
• Work samples or situational assessments in vocational settings
• Informal interviews with the student and family about goals and preferences
• Adaptive behavior assessments addressing daily living skills

The transition goals written in the IEP must connect to this assessment data. If the assessment shows the student has strong interest in technology and visual-spatial skills, transition goals pointing toward culinary arts have an obvious mismatch that the team should address.

CT CORE Transition Skills: Connecticut's Framework

Connecticut uses the CT CORE Transition Skills framework — 16 key skill areas that serve as the foundation for transition planning in Connecticut schools. These areas span:

• Self-advocacy and self-determination
• Employment and career readiness
• Independent living and community participation
• Postsecondary education and training navigation
• Social and interpersonal skills
• Financial literacy

When reviewing your child's transition IEP, look for whether the goals and services are connected to these skill areas and whether they're being addressed in a systematic way — not just through a generic "transition class" that doesn't have specific, measurable objectives.

BRS Level Up: Pre-Employment Transition Services

Connecticut's Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS) operates the Level Up program — pre-employment transition services available to students with disabilities between ages 16 and 22. Level Up provides:

• Job exploration counseling
• Work-based learning experiences (job shadows, internships)
• Workplace readiness training
• Self-advocacy instruction
• Instruction in enrollment in postsecondary programs

BRS Level Up services are funded separately from the IEP — they come through the vocational rehabilitation system, not the school district. But they are a critical complement to the IEP transition plan, and the IEP should reflect coordination with BRS. If your child is 16 or older and has not been connected to BRS Level Up, ask the PPT whether a referral is appropriate.

Districts have an obligation to invite outside agencies to transition PPT meetings when those agencies may be providing or paying for transition services. If BRS is or should be involved in your child's transition plan, a BRS representative should be invited to the meeting — or if they can't attend, the district should document their involvement in some other way.

Sample Transition Goals With Short-Term Objectives

Connecticut requires short-term objectives for all IEP goals, including transition goals. Here are examples that meet both the measurable postsecondary goal standard and CT's short-term objective requirement.

Postsecondary goal (employment): After leaving high school, [student] will obtain part-time competitive integrated employment in the hospitality sector with natural workplace supports.

IEP transition goal aligned to this postsecondary goal: By [date], [student] will independently complete a job application, including work history and references, for at least 2 positions in the hospitality sector with no more than 2 prompts, as measured by work samples and teacher observation.

Short-term objective 1 (Q1): Given a job application template, [student] will identify the required fields and complete personal information and contact sections without assistance on 3 of 4 observed attempts.

Short-term objective 2 (Q2): [Student] will independently complete a full mock job application for a hospitality position with no more than 1 prompt on 3 of 4 observed attempts.

Postsecondary goal (education/training): After high school, [student] will enroll in a certificate program at a Connecticut community college.

IEP transition goal: By [date], [student] will independently schedule and attend a meeting with a disability services coordinator at [target community college] to identify needed accommodations for postsecondary enrollment, documented by a meeting confirmation and student self-report.

Postsecondary goal (independent living): After high school, [student] will manage personal finances using a digital banking system.

IEP transition goal: Given a monthly budget template and bank account access, [student] will track income and expenses for 4 consecutive weeks and identify when spending exceeds a budget category without staff prompting, as measured by weekly budget review, by [date].

Student Participation in Transition Planning

Connecticut's transition framework expects students to play an active role in their own transition planning. The IEP meeting invitation for transition-age students must be sent directly to the student (in addition to parents). The student should be present at the PPT and should ideally lead or significantly contribute to the discussion of their transition goals.

If your child's PPT meetings have been conducted without the student's meaningful participation, that is worth changing. Building self-advocacy skills is one of the CT CORE Transition Skills — students who cannot articulate their own goals and needs are at a disadvantage when they leave the support structure of high school.

For families with students who have significant support needs, the IEP should also address supported decision-making, guardianship considerations, and the role of natural supports in the student's adult life. These are conversations that should begin well before age 18.

The Connecticut IEP & 504 Blueprint includes a Connecticut transition assessment tool, sample transition goals with short-term objectives across all required domains, and a BRS Level Up referral guide.

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