Indiana Transition Portfolio: What It Is, Who Needs It, and How to Build One

A Graduation Requirement That Often Gets Overlooked

The Indiana Transition Portfolio is a mandatory collection of documents for students pursuing a Certificate of Completion (CoC) or an Alternate Diploma. Under 511 IAC 6-7.1-12 and 511 IAC 6-7.1-10, these students must compile evidence of their transition experiences, work readiness, and postsecondary planning throughout their high school years. Without a completed portfolio, a student cannot satisfy the graduation requirements for either credential.

Despite being a graduation requirement, the portfolio is frequently treated as an afterthought — assembled hastily in the student's final semester rather than built progressively from age 14. That approach produces a weaker portfolio and misses the point of the exercise: the portfolio is supposed to be a working record of the student's transition journey, not a retrospective filing project.

Who Needs a Transition Portfolio

Not every student with an IEP needs one. The requirement applies specifically to students whose course of study documents one of these two graduation pathways:

• Certificate of Completion: For students unable to meet diploma standards under the regular curriculum. The CoC requires a minimum of 40 applied units (academic and employability) and a completed Transition Portfolio.
• Alternate Diploma: Created for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who participate in Indiana's alternate statewide assessment (I AM). Also requires a minimum of 40 credits or applied units and a completed Transition Portfolio.

Students pursuing a regular high school diploma do not need a Transition Portfolio (though they must satisfy Graduation Pathways requirements, which can include portfolio-like components). The CCC documents the graduation pathway in the student's Transition IEP — if you are not sure which pathway your child is on, check the course of study section of the most recent IEP.

What Goes in the Portfolio

The Transition Portfolio is not a single form. It is a collection of evidence across multiple domains, accumulated over several years. Indiana does not prescribe a rigid template, but state guidance and the INSTRC (Indiana Secondary Transition Resource Center) outline expected categories:

Employment and career readiness:

• Documentation of work-based learning experiences (job shadowing, internships, community-based vocational training)
• Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) participation records
• Employer evaluations or supervisor feedback
• Career interest inventory results from age-appropriate transition assessments
• Any career credentials, certifications, or training completions

Education and training:

• Transition assessment results used in the Transition IEP
• Course completion records for applied units
• Evidence of postsecondary exploration (college visits, program tours, vocational school contact)
• Assistive technology proficiency documentation

Independent living:

• Evidence of community participation and daily living skill development
• Self-advocacy documentation (student-led IEP meeting participation, self-disclosure practice)
• Transportation training or mobility documentation
• Financial literacy evidence (budgeting exercises, banking activity)

Personal documentation:

• Updated resume
• Letters of recommendation from employers, teachers, or community members
• The student's own statement of postsecondary goals

The portfolio should be organized chronologically or by domain, and the student should be able to present and explain its contents — which connects directly to self-advocacy skill development.

The Portfolio Is Not a Summary of Performance

This is the most common confusion in Indiana transition planning, and the Indiana Department of Education has addressed it directly: the Transition Portfolio does not replace the legally mandated Summary of Performance (SOP) under 511 IAC 7-43-7.

The SOP is a separate document that the CCC must complete and provide to the student at exit. It summarizes the student's academic achievement, functional performance, and recommendations for accommodations in postsecondary settings. The SOP is what a college disability services office or an employer will use to understand the student's needs — it is a professional document written by the education team.

The portfolio is a student-compiled collection of evidence. For students whose pathway requires a portfolio, both documents are distinct: the portfolio does not replace the legally mandated SOP. Substituting the portfolio for the SOP would fail to meet the separate SOP requirement.

Building the Portfolio Across the Transition Years

The strongest portfolios are built progressively:

Ages 14–15 (ninth and tenth grade): Start the portfolio with initial transition assessment results, career interest inventories, and early Pre-ETS participation records. The student can begin a section for self-advocacy evidence by documenting their participation in CCC meetings.

Ages 16–17 (eleventh and twelfth grade): Add work-based learning documentation as the student begins job shadowing or internships coordinated through Pre-ETS or VR. Include any community-based vocational training records. Update the resume and career interest materials as the student's goals become more specific.

Ages 18–22 (postsecondary transition years): For students who remain in school after the age of majority, the portfolio should reflect increasing independence — self-referrals to agencies, self-managed work experiences, independent travel training. The student, as the default legal decision-maker after age 18, should be the primary person adding to and organizing the portfolio.

The school's transition coordinator or teacher of record should review the portfolio at each annual CCC meeting and document any gaps in the Transition IEP's present levels section. If the portfolio is missing employment evidence because the school has not coordinated work-based learning, that is a transition services gap the CCC needs to address — not something the student should be penalized for at graduation.

The Indiana IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide includes a portfolio assembly checklist organized by grade level, sample evidence descriptions for each category, and the CCC meeting preparation questions that ensure the school is doing its part to help the student build a complete portfolio over time.

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