Vermont Transition Coordinator and Core Transition Team: Roles Explained

Who the Transition Coordinator Is

Vermont's transition coordinators sit at the intersection of school-based special education and the adult service agencies families need to connect with before their child exits the K-12 system. A transition coordinator's primary job is making sure the IEP's transition plan doesn't exist in a vacuum — that the goals written on paper actually connect to real programs, real agencies, and real people who can pick up where the school leaves off.

In most Vermont school districts, the transition coordinator is a special educator or a designated staff member who handles the logistics that classroom teachers don't have time for: inviting HireAbility Vermont counselors to IEP meetings, coordinating referrals to the Public Consulting Group for adult developmental services intake, arranging work-based learning placements, and tracking whether the transition plan's moving parts are actually moving.

The quality of transition coordination varies significantly across Vermont's supervisory unions. Larger districts may have a dedicated transition coordinator whose entire role is this work. Smaller districts often assign transition responsibilities to a special education case manager who's also handling 20 other IEPs. The difference shows up in whether agency referrals happen on time, whether outside professionals actually attend IEP meetings, and whether families find out about critical deadlines — like the 12-to-18-month lead time for DAIL intake — early enough to act.

What Core Transition Teams Do

Vermont's Core Transition Teams are regional, interagency groups that bring school staff, HireAbility Vermont counselors, and community agency representatives together. There are 12 regional teams across the state, each covering a cluster of school districts.

The teams typically meet monthly or quarterly and serve as the coordination layer that individual IEP meetings can't provide. While an IEP meeting focuses on one student, a Core Transition Team meeting focuses on systems: Are referrals flowing between schools and HireAbility? Are work-based learning sites available in the region? Are students getting connected to adult services early enough?

For families, the Core Transition Team matters because it's where your school's transition coordinator gets connected to the broader network. A coordinator who actively participates in the regional team knows which HireAbility counselors to call, which Designated Agencies are responsive, and what work-based learning opportunities exist locally. A coordinator who doesn't participate in the team may be reinventing the wheel — or missing resources entirely.

What Families Should Expect

At a minimum, your school should identify who is responsible for:

• Identified as a contact for transition-focused IEP meetings from age 16 onward (earlier if your district starts transition planning at 14 under SBE Rule 2363.7(i))
• Coordinating with HireAbility Vermont to ensure a vocational rehabilitation counselor is invited to IEP meetings and that Pre-ETS referrals are in place
• Tracking progress on transition goals — not just academic goals, but the employment, independent living, and post-secondary education goals that make up the Indicator 13 transition plan
• Helping initiate the adult services handoff by connecting your family with PCG for developmental services intake at least 12 to 18 months before your child is expected to exit school

If none of this is happening, ask directly at the next IEP meeting: "Who is responsible for coordinating transition services, and what specific steps have been taken since our last meeting?" The question is pointed, but it's the right one. Transition plans that don't name responsible parties and deadlines are compliance artifacts, not plans.

When Progress Monitoring Falls Short

Progress monitoring for transition goals works differently than for academic goals. Academic progress can be measured through test scores and grades. Transition progress is measured by whether things happened: Did the HireAbility referral go through? Did the student participate in a work-based learning experience? Was the PCG intake application submitted?

Vermont's IEP progress reports should include updates on transition goal progress, but families often find these sections sparse or generic. If the progress report says "the student is making satisfactory progress toward employment goals" but no employer site visit, job shadow, or Pre-ETS activity has occurred, satisfactory progress isn't being made.

Keeping your own records makes a significant difference. Log when meetings happened, who attended, what was promised, and what was delivered. If the transition coordinator committed to submitting a HireAbility referral by a specific date, note it and follow up. This kind of documentation is exactly what families need if they ever need to request compensatory education for services that were promised but never delivered.

The Vermont IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide includes an agency communication log and meeting preparation worksheets designed specifically for tracking the transition coordination process across multiple agencies and school years.

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