Missouri Indicator 13 Compliance Checklist: Is Your Student's Transition Plan Legally Complete?

What Indicator 13 Measures

Indicator 13 is one of the federal compliance metrics DESE uses to evaluate whether Missouri school districts are meeting IDEA transition requirements. It measures the percentage of students aged 16 and older whose IEPs contain measurable, annually updated postsecondary goals based on age-appropriate transition assessment and appropriate transition services and courses of study.

DESE uses the Indicator 13 checklist in its compliance monitoring to assess whether IEPs meet the transition requirements. The checklist isn't aspirational — it's a practical standard for what a transition plan must contain.

For parents, Indicator 13 is a free compliance checklist. If your student's IEP is missing an item, you have a concrete issue to raise with the team and document; a checklist result by itself does not determine a legal violation.

The Indicator 13 Checklist Items

The National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC) developed the standard Indicator 13 checklist that Missouri uses. Each item is a yes/no question:

1. Are there appropriate measurable postsecondary goals in the area of training/education? The goal must state what the student will do after high school related to continued education or training, and it must be measurable — not vague language like "will explore options."

2. Are there appropriate measurable postsecondary goals in the area of employment? Same standard: a specific, measurable employment outcome after high school exit.

3. If appropriate, are there measurable postsecondary goals in the area of independent living? The IEP team determines whether independent living goals are needed based on the student's disability and functional limitations. For most students with significant disabilities, the answer is yes.

4. Are the postsecondary goals updated annually? Goals must be reviewed and updated at every annual IEP meeting, not copied from the prior year without revision.

5. Is there evidence that the measurable postsecondary goals were based on age-appropriate transition assessments? This is where many IEPs fail. The goals must trace back to specific assessment data — interest inventories, functional assessments, vocational evaluations — not teacher observation alone.

6. Are there transition services in the IEP that will reasonably enable the student to meet their postsecondary goals? The plan must list specific services — not just "will participate in transition activities" — with responsible parties and timelines.

7. Do the transition services include courses of study that will reasonably enable the student to meet their postsecondary goals? The multi-year course plan must align with the postsecondary goals. A student with a postsecondary education goal of a welding certificate should have career-technical welding classes in their course of study.

8. Is there evidence that the student was invited to the IEP meeting where transition was discussed? IDEA requires the student to be invited to any IEP meeting that discusses transition. Not just present — invited, which means the meeting notice was addressed to the student.

9. If appropriate, is there evidence that a representative of any participating agency was invited to the IEP meeting, with prior consent of the parent or adult student? When VR, DMH, or other agencies are expected to provide transition services, they must be invited, and written consent from the educational decision-maker must be obtained before the invitation.

Where Missouri Districts Commonly Fail

Common gaps include:

Generic goals not based on assessments. The most common failure. The transition plan contains boilerplate goals — "Student will obtain employment in the community" — that could apply to any student. There's no evidence connecting the goal to specific assessment data about this student's interests, strengths, and support needs.

This is especially problematic for students with intellectual disabilities, whose transition plans often default to the most generic language. These students arguably need the most individualized plans, because their postsecondary outcomes depend heavily on the specific supports, work environments, and living arrangements identified during transition planning.

Missing agency coordination. The IEP mentions VR or DD services but there's no evidence that agency representatives were invited to the meeting or that consent from the educational decision-maker was obtained before the invitation. Sometimes the school makes a referral without following up, and the IEP documents a service nobody has actually arranged.

Course of study disconnected from goals. The student's postsecondary employment goal says competitive integrated employment in healthcare, but the course of study is four years of standard academics with no healthcare career-technical education, no community-based work experiences in healthcare settings, and no CNA certification pathway.

How Parents Can Use the Checklist

You don't need to wait for DESE's compliance review to audit your student's transition plan. Pull out the IEP and run through each checklist item yourself:

• Open to Form C. Can you find measurable postsecondary goals in at least training/education and employment? Are they specific to your student?
• Look at the assessment section. When was the last age-appropriate transition assessment conducted? What tools were used? Can you trace a line from the assessment results to each postsecondary goal?
• Check the course of study. Do the planned classes for the remaining high school years directly prepare the student for their stated postsecondary goals?
• Look at the transition services section. Are specific services listed with responsible parties and timelines? Did the school invite VR or other agencies (with the educational decision-maker's written consent)?
• Was your student invited to the meeting? Check the meeting notice — was it addressed to the student, not just the parents?

If any answer is no, you've found a compliance gap. Raise it in writing with the IEP team and request corrective action. Document the specific checklist item that isn't met and what needs to change.

The Missouri IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide includes a printable Indicator 13 audit tool that walks through each checklist item with plain-language explanations and example language, so you can verify your student's transition plan before the next IEP meeting.

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