Michigan IEP Transition Meeting Preparation Checklist for Parents

The Meeting That Shapes Everything After High School

A transition IEP meeting is not a regular annual review with a few extra pages. It determines your child's postsecondary goals, the services the school must provide to reach those goals, and the adult agencies that need to be involved before school ends. Walking in unprepared means accepting whatever the district proposes.

Michigan requires formal transition planning to be in effect by the first IEP in force when the student turns 16. Many ISDs start earlier — some as young as 14. Regardless of when it starts, every transition IEP meeting follows the same compliance framework, and parents who know what to ask for get substantially better plans.

Before the Meeting: What to Prepare

Request the draft IEP at least five business days before the meeting. Michigan law doesn't require the school to share a draft in advance, but many districts will if asked. Reviewing the proposed goals, assessments, and transition services before the meeting gives you time to identify problems and prepare questions.

Review the most recent transition assessments. Age-appropriate transition assessments are the foundation of transition planning. They should evaluate the student's interests, preferences, strengths, and needs across three domains: education/training, employment, and independent living. If the assessments are more than a year old or consist only of a one-page interest survey, request updated, comprehensive assessments before the meeting.

Bring your own documentation. Medical records, outside evaluations, work-based learning reports, and the student's own self-assessment. The IEP team must consider information you provide.

Talk with your child. Before the meeting, ask: What do you want to do after high school? What kind of work interests you? Where do you want to live? Do you want to go to college or a trade program? Their answers should drive the meeting's direction.

At the Meeting: What Must Happen

Under SPP Indicator B-13, Michigan tracks compliance on nine specific criteria for every transition-age IEP. If any are missing, the IEP is out of compliance with IDEA. Here's what to verify:

The student was invited. The meeting notice must include the student's name as an invited participant. If the student doesn't attend, the team must document how the student's preferences were incorporated.

Consent to invite outside agencies. Before the school can invite MRS, BSBP, CMHSP, or another agency that may be responsible for providing or paying for transition services, it needs your written consent (or the adult student's consent). The standard form is the MDE "Consent to Invite Agency Representatives" template. If the school hasn't asked for this consent, it cannot legally invite an agency that may be responsible for providing or paying for transition services — which means no one from the adult services system is at the table.

Age-appropriate transition assessments. The IEP must document that measurable postsecondary goals are based on these assessments — not invented by the team.

Measurable postsecondary goals. The IEP must include at least one goal each for education/training and employment, and one for independent living if appropriate. Goals must be measurable and specific. "Student will explore employment" is not measurable. "Student will complete a community-based internship in food service and demonstrate the ability to follow a 4-step task sequence independently" is.

A course of study. The IEP must include a multi-year plan showing which courses and experiences connect to the student's postsecondary goals.

Transition services. Specific services — not vague promises — that the school will provide or coordinate to help the student reach their goals.

Questions to Ask at Every Transition IEP Meeting

• What age-appropriate transition assessments were administered, and how recent are they?
• How do the proposed postsecondary goals connect to the assessment results?
• Has the Consent to Invite Agency Representatives form been sent home?
• Is MRS or BSBP aware of this student, and have Pre-ETS services been discussed?
• What work-based learning experiences are planned for this school year?
• Is the student on a diploma track or a Certificate of Completion track, and what are the implications of each?
• What is the timeline for initiating adult services referrals (CMHSP, MRS, BSBP)?
• How will progress on transition goals be measured and reported?

After the Meeting: What to Do

Read the final IEP carefully. Compare it against what was discussed and agreed upon. If anything was changed or omitted, request a correction in writing.

Follow up on agency referrals. If the team agreed to refer your child to MRS or CMHSP, confirm that the referral was actually submitted. Referrals that are "discussed" at a meeting but never filed are a common failure point.

Document everything. Keep copies of every IEP, assessment, consent form, and meeting notice in your records portfolio. If a dispute arises later, documentation is your evidence.

The Michigan IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide provides a complete meeting preparation worksheet, a pre-meeting conversation guide for use with your child, and the full B-13 compliance checklist families can use to evaluate their child's transition IEP.

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