Transition IEP Goals for Nunavut Students: Planning Life After School
Transition IEP Goals for Nunavut Students: Planning Life After School
By the time a student with an ISSP reaches high school in Nunavut, the clock is running. The window between a student's current grade and graduation — or aging out of the school system — is finite, and the pathway to adult life in Nunavut is different from anywhere else in Canada. If the ISSP doesn't explicitly plan for transition, the school system often defaults to simply continuing what's already in place, and the student arrives at 18 or 21 without a meaningful pathway forward.
Transition planning in Nunavut is not optional. It's a moral responsibility embedded in the Education Act's vision of inclusive education and the IQ principle of Pijitsirniq — serving the community by ensuring every person can contribute meaningfully to it. This post is about what transition goals should look like, when to start, and what's genuinely available for Nunavut students leaving school.
What Transition Planning Is — and When It Should Start
Transition planning addresses the move from the school environment to adult life: post-secondary education, employment, independent living, and community participation. For students with significant disabilities, this planning needs to be intentional, specific, and written into the ISSP well before the final year of schooling.
In Nunavut, advocacy organizations and the Inuglugijaittuq foundation document recommend starting transition planning by age 14–15, ideally earlier for students with more complex needs. Waiting until Grade 11 or 12 is too late to course-correct fundamental issues — particularly the question of what type of ISSP a student holds.
The Transcript Issue: IAP vs. IEP in High School
Before any transition planning begins, the most important thing to audit is the type of ISSP your student holds.
If your student is on an Individual Education Plan (IEP) — with modified curriculum — their high school courses are flagged on their transcript as modified. This means:
- Standard university degree program admission may be restricted or unavailable
- The student must be very strategic about which pathways are still accessible
If your student is on an Individual Accommodation Plan (IAP) — accommodations only, standard curriculum — their transcript looks the same as any other student's. Post-secondary options remain open.
For students who have been on an IEP but who have the cognitive capacity to work toward standard curriculum outcomes, the high school years represent a critical window to shift from an IEP to an IAP — even partially, for specific courses. Every standard-curriculum credit earned in Grades 11 and 12 expands future options.
As a parent, the question to ask at every ISSP review during high school: "For each course my child is taking, are they on modified curriculum or standard curriculum with accommodations? If it's modified, does it need to be, or could accommodations be sufficient?"
Post-Secondary Options for Nunavut Students
Nunavut's primary post-secondary institution is Nunavut Arctic College (NAC), with campuses at Iqaluit (Nunatta), Rankin Inlet (Kivalliq), and Kugluktuk (Kitikmeot). NAC provides:
- Certificate and diploma programs across trades, health, and business
- Academic upgrading programs for students who need to strengthen foundational skills
- Disability accommodation services at all three campuses
For students with disabilities, contacting NAC's disability services coordinator before graduation — ideally in Grade 11 — allows transition planning to include the specific accommodations that will be needed in the college environment, and builds a bridge between the high school ISSP and the college support plan.
Some Nunavut students pursue southern post-secondary programs. If your student is considering a southern university or college, the accommodations they've received under their ISSP do not automatically transfer — but the documentation of those accommodations (assessment reports, accommodation letters) is what southern disability services offices will use to establish new supports. Maintain complete records.
Financial support is available through:
- Financial Assistance for Nunavut Students (FANS) — territorial funding for post-secondary students
- Adult Learning and Training Supports (ALTS) — supplementary grants and loan forgiveness for vulnerable residents
- Inuit Child First Initiative (ICFI) — can fund supports that bridge educational and health needs during the transition
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Employment and Vocational Pathways
For students whose goals are employment rather than post-secondary education, transition goals should address:
- Specific job skills relevant to available employment in the territory (government, construction, retail, community services)
- Workplace communication and social skills
- Financial literacy — budgeting, banking, understanding a pay stub
- Navigating job applications and interviews
- Understanding workplace accommodations and how to request them
Nunavut has a strong preference for local hiring in government positions, and the Government of Nunavut actively works toward Inuit employment targets. Transition planning that explicitly connects a student's goals to available local employment opportunities — including trades apprenticeships and territorial government entry-level positions — is both realistic and practical.
If your student has specific vocational interests, contact the Department of Family Services (vocational rehabilitation services) early — not at graduation, but during high school — so supports can be arranged proactively.
Independent Living Goals
For students with significant disabilities who will not be moving to fully independent living, transition planning should address adult support systems:
- Nunavummi Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Society (NDMS) — disability advocacy and connection to adult services
- Adult group homes and supported living — contact the Department of Family Services during high school, as wait times for supported housing are long
- Day programs and community participation — identify what exists locally and plan accordingly
For these students, transition goals in the ISSP might include:
- Personal care and hygiene skills to the level of maximum independence
- Community navigation (using local services, safe travel within the community)
- Communication skills sufficient for daily life and self-advocacy
- Money management at the individual's highest achievable level
What Transition Goals Should Look Like in the ISSP
Transition goals must be as specific as any other ISSP goal — measurable, time-bound, and tied to a specific post-secondary outcome. Here are examples across pathway types:
Post-secondary pathway:
- "By the end of Grade 11, [student] will complete the NAC academic upgrading readiness self-assessment and identify 2 programs of interest, supported by the Student Support Teacher, as documented in the ISSP transition plan."
- "By June of Grade 12, [student] will have submitted an application to NAC with a completed accommodation request form, with the Student Support Teacher's support."
- "By Term 2 of Grade 11, [student] will demonstrate the ability to advocate for their own accommodations in a simulated meeting, using a prepared script, with 80% of key accommodation points communicated."
Employment pathway:
- "By the end of Grade 10, [student] will complete a volunteer or work experience placement of at least 40 hours and produce a written reflection on their experience."
- "By Grade 12, [student] will create a resume and practice an interview scenario with a community employer, as documented by the Student Support Teacher."
- "By Term 3 of Grade 11, [student] will demonstrate the ability to read and interpret a pay stub and calculate monthly budget allocations for housing, food, and expenses, with 85% accuracy."
Independent living pathway:
- "By the end of Grade 11, [student] will prepare a simple meal independently using a visual recipe guide with no more than 2 prompts, on 4 of 5 trials."
- "By Grade 12, [student] will contact a community service or government office by phone or in person to request information, demonstrating this skill in 2 of 3 attempts with minimal support."
- "By the end of Grade 10, [student]'s ISSP will include a referral to the Department of Family Services for adult services planning, with documentation that the referral was made."
The Connection to Cultural Identity
Transition planning in Nunavut should not be limited to the southern model of post-secondary education or formal employment. For many students — particularly those whose strengths lie in land-based skills, oral culture, and community contribution — a meaningful adult life may look like skilled involvement in harvesting, cultural preservation, childcare, Elder support, or community leadership.
Transition goals that explicitly acknowledge and build toward land-based skills and cultural knowledge are entirely appropriate and supported by the IQ principle of Pilimmaksarniq (developing skills through effort and practice). A student whose ISSP transition plan includes goals around traditional skills alongside literacy and numeracy is a student whose full personhood is being honored.
Starting the Conversation
If your student is 14 or older and does not yet have transition goals in their ISSP, request a specific SST meeting focused on transition planning. Bring your own notes about your student's interests, strengths, and hopes for their adult life. Ask:
- What type of ISSP does my child hold, and what does that mean for post-secondary?
- Has a referral been made to NAC disability services or the Department of Family Services?
- What transition goals are currently in the ISSP?
- Is FANS or ALTS financial support something my child should be applying for?
The Nunavut IEP & Support Plan Blueprint includes a transition planning checklist, sample transition goal templates, and a guide to the post-secondary and adult services pathways available in the territory. Get the full guide at /ca/nunavut/iep-guide/.
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