Education Week - Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2015 - (Page 1)

INSIDE 4 2 After Special Ed., Path Is Less Certain 3 DATA OVERVIEW: Students with Disabilities In School and Work 4 BY THE NUMBERS: Hearing Impairment EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A Closer Look at the Transition Out of Special Education A fter spending years in a special education system that carefully spells out their rights and the services they should receive, students with disabilities often find it daunting to contemplate their next steps after high school. Should they apply to college, look for a job, or stay in the special education system until they "age out" at 21? And, if they do opt for college or work, what kinds of supports and accommodations are these students entitled to? To paraphrase a parent-advocate quoted in this edition of Education Week's Diplomas Count report, it's like going to a restaurant, asking for a menu, and being told there isn't one. Families must puzzle out the options for themselves. And while federal special education law requires schools to provide students with transition planning before they turn 16, parents often complain that the discussion starts too late or is too general. This report examines the transition out of K-12 schooling for students with disabilities, who account for 8.5 percent of the nation's 6- to 21-year-olds. The 2015 Diplomas Count report also includes the latest statistics on the nation's overall, on-time high school graduation rate. The news is good: 81 percent of the class of 2013-a historic high-graduated in four years, as tabulated by the Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate. The four-year graduation rate for students with disabilities, while also rising, is lower, at 62 percent. This national average masks a huge amount of variation from state to state, from a graduationrate low of 23 percent in Mississippi to 80 percent in Arkansas. Further muddying the picture, states have the discretion to set graduation requirements for special education students. In some states, those students can earn a standard diploma with easier classes or lower passing scores than their peers without disabilities. And school discipline practices that disproportionately mete out suspensions and expulsions to special education students also keep graduation rates low. Other articles focus on the need for students with disabilities to learn early to advocate for themselves in the wider world and explore paths to the workplace and college-the latter becoming a growing destination for this population. Finally, a highlight of this year's report is five profiles of young adults with a range of disabilities who are currently in the transition pipeline. They discuss their successes and disappointments and their drive to succeed. "I've never had it easy in school," explained one confident high school senior from Decatur, Ga., "so I know how to fight." -THE EDITORS DIPLOMAS COUNT 2015 BOARD OF TRUSTEES, EDITORIAL PROJECTS IN EDUCATION Larry Berger, president, Amplify Learning * Sarita Brown, president, Excelencia in Education * Chris Curran, co-founder and managing partner, Tyton Partners * Virginia B. Edwards, president and editor-in-chief, EPE and Education Week (ex officio) * Francesca Forzani, associate director, TeachingWorks * Mike Lawrence, executive vice president and chief reputation officer, Cone Communications * Chris Liedel, president, Smithsonian Enterprises * Harriet Sanford, president and CEO, NEA Foundation * Jim Sexton, vice president digital, B.A.S.S. * Lester Strong, chief executive officer, AARP Experience Corps * Jerry Weast, founder and CEO, Partnership for Deliberate Excellence * Ronald A. Wolk, chair emeritus (ex officio) EDUCATION WEEK (ISSN 0277-4232) is published 37 times per year: weekly except 9/3, 11/19, 11/26, 12/17, 12/24, 12/31/2014, and 2/11, 3/11, 4/8, 4/29, 5/27, 6/17, 6/24, 7/1, 7/15, 7/22, 7/29, and 8/12/2015, with an extra issue 1/8, 6/4, and 6/11/2015, by Editorial Projects in Education Inc., offices located at 6935 Arlington Rd., Suite 100, Bethesda, MD 20814-5287; (301) 280-3100. Subscriptions: U.S.: $89.94 for one year (37 issues). Canada: $155.94. Foreign: $228.94. Orders must be paid in U.S. dollars. Periodicals postage paid at Bethesda, Md., and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EDUCATION WEEK, PO Box 3005, Langhorne, PA 19047. Vol. 34, Issue 33. Education Week is a registered trademark of Editorial Projects in Education Inc. Copyright © 2015 by Editorial Projects in Education Inc. All rights reserved. President & Editor-in-Chief Virginia B. Edwards Executive Editor Gregory Chronister Executive Project Editor Debra Viadero Assistant Project Editor, Senior Writer Christina A. Samuels Contributing Writers Caralee J. Adams Evie Blad Catherine Gewertz Sarah D. Sparks Holly Yettick Vice President for Research & Development Christopher B. Swanson Director, Education Week Research Center, & Project Director Holly Yettick Senior Research Associate, Education Week Research Center, & Project Manager Sterling C. Lloyd Research Associate Sean M. Chalk Research Intern Jennie Krems Creative Director Laura Baker Director of Photography Charles Borst Associate Director of Photography Swikar Patel Art Director Gina M. Tomko Associate Art Director, Lead Project Designer Vanessa Solis Designers Sumita Bannerjee Linda H. Jurkowitz Director of Production Jo Arnone Coordinator, Advertising Production Dana Gittings ADVERTISING: For information about print and online advertising in future reports, please contact Associate Publisher Sean Herdman, at sherdman@epe.org or (301) 280-3162. 4 Md. Senior Opts For University Geared To Students With Hearing Impairments 5 In College, Students Face Choice: Seek Help or Go It Alone? 7 BY THE NUMBERS: Emotional Disturbance 7 At Lab School, Pennsylvania Student Prepares for Career In Culinary Arts 8 After K-12, Students Must Be Self-Advocates 9 BY THE NUMBERS: Specific Learning Disability 9 On Road to College, Georgia Student Learns To Speak for Herself 10 For Job-Oriented Students, Work Experience Is Critical 12 Discipline Policies Push Students Off College-and-Career Path 14 BY THE NUMBERS: Autism 14 Budding Politician Sets Sights on College 7 15 State Diploma Requirements Vary 9 16 Common Core: Will Bar Rise For Students With Disabilities? 17 BY THE NUMBERS: Intellectual Disability 17 In Virginia, Jobs Enable Twin Brothers To 'Walk Taller' After High School 18 Graduation Rates Reach New Highs, But Gaps Remain 19 TABLE: Graduation Rate Tops 80 Percent 20 State-by-State Data 17 ON THE COVER: As part of a job-training program, Maritza Rivera, 19, gets ready to receive and deliver supplies in the operating room at Novant Prince William Medical Center in Manassas, Va. The program, known as Project SEARCH, enables students with disabilities to spend their last year of high school interning at the hospital. 14 5 Lexey Swall for Education Week

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2015

Education Week - Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2015
Inside
After Special Ed., Path Is Less Certain
DATA OVERVIEW: Students with Disabilities In School and Work
BY THE NUMBERS: Hearing Impairment
Md. Senior Opts For University Geared To Students With Hearing Impairments
In College, Students Face Choice: Seek Help or Go It Alone?
BY THE NUMBERS: Emotional Disturbance
At Lab School, Pennsylvania Student Prepares for Career In Culinary Arts
After K-12, Students Must Be Self-Advocates
BY THE NUMBERS: Specific Learning Disability
On Road to College, Georgia Student Learns To Speak for Herself
For Job-Oriented Students, Work Experience Is Critical
Discipline Policies Push Students Off College-and-Career Path
BY THE NUMBERS: Autism
Budding Politician Sets Sights on College
State Diploma Requirements Vary
Common Core: Will Bar Rise For Students With Disabilities?
BY THE NUMBERS: Intellectual Disability
In Virginia, Jobs Enable Twin Brothers To ‘Walk Taller’ After High School
Graduation Rates Reach New Highs, But Gaps Remain
TABLE: Graduation Rate Tops 80 Percent
State-by-State Data

Education Week - Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2015