Navegando la graduación: consideraciones para familias de estudiantes con discapacidades: 2025-2026 Seminario Web

Good afternoon and welcome everyone. Before we begin, we would like to inform you that the presenters of this webinar, by Elizabeth Tanner and Logueon Mentschild, from the Texas Education Agency, will be presenting in English. The Spanish version will be presented by SPECtX consultants. To attend the webinar in English, please use the link provided in the chat. After completing the registration questions, you will be able to join. Once again, good afternoon and welcome to today's state webinar, organized by and partners resource network. My name is Ginette Aguirre and, presenting with me, we have Joanne Randall and we are part of the team of We also have Marjana Antunez, from Partners Resource Network. The topic of today's webinar is Navigating Graduation, Considerations for Families of Students with Disabilities. Before we begin, a few reminders. This webinar is being recorded and the recording will be posted on our site, Spectext. The chat function is only available if you need technical support. However, you can ask questions in the question and answer section. The presenters will review their submissions, which will help us with clarifications and frequently asked questions in the future. There will be no live Q&A today. Now a little about us. SpeedTex is Texas's special education information center. We are a collaborative project between the educational services center of region ten and the Texas education agency. We help parents understand their rights and responsibilities under IDEA, and we facilitate collaboration when there are concerns between parents and the school district. We also serve as a resource for educators. We offer phone, email, or live chat support for families and professionals. We also offer webinars, such as today's, and resources. Now we'll hear from Marianna Antunez for additional information from the Partners Resource Network. Go ahead, Marianna. Very good afternoon to all. I'm Marianna Antunez and I represent the Partners Resource Network. A partners resource network is a non-profit organization that operates the network of information and training centers for parents in Texas. These centers or PTIs are funded by the Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs. In Texas, these four projects are known as PACT PACT PEN EATIN. Our mission is to empower and support Texas families and people with disabilities and special health care needs. We do this thanks to a network of highly qualified regional coordinators who know local policies, services and resources, as well as state and national guidelines. PDN provides training, information and personalized assistance at no cost to Texas families and youth. We serve parents of children and youth with disabilities from birth to twenty-six years of age, as well as youth between fourteen and twenty-six years of age who exercise self-defense. Thank you, Maryana. And thanks again to everyone for being with us. Information in today's webinar is being presented in English by Elizabeth Danner, state transition coordinator at the Texas education agency. Presenting with her is Logan Menshaw, who is the assistant director of guidance, counseling, and student support in the college readiness, career, and military division. As we said, the information they are presenting has been translated into Spanish and we will be sharing it during today's webinar. Now, we'll start with the questions that have probably brought many of you to this webinar. You may have wondered what requirements all students must meet to obtain a diploma or what are the options for adapting those requirements to students with disabilities. If your child needs changes to the curriculum, has difficulty passing STARP evaluations, or is taking an alternative evaluation, you may wonder if that will have an impact on their path to graduation or their options after high school. Some of you may have heard that special education services are available until age twenty-two for some students and are wondering if your child will be eligible to continue to be enrolled. This list of questions is also the list of topics we'll be covering during today's webinar. Now I will hand over the screen to my colleague Johan. Thank you, Jennette. We'll be using the Texas transition and employment guide for most of today's topic, but I want to make sure they're aware of other TEA resources called the graduation toolkit. This resource was recently updated and is designed to help Texas students, families, and educators understand high school graduation requirements and plan for college preparation, career, or military service. It provides clear guidance on graduation programs, certifications, academic planning, and resources to support a successful transition after high school. You can find the link to download your English copy. The year 2020 version of the graduation toolkit is available in Spanish. The updates in the year two thousand twenty-five version consisted mainly of design changes. The content changes include information about the Texas First program for early high school completion, and the professional and technical education programs, OCTE. The TEA website will include Spanish translations of the frameworks of the CTE study programs, apart from the spring of the year of two thousand twenty-six. The Texas Transition and Employment Guide was also updated in 2005 and is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese. Many of you may have received information about this guide from your children's school, or you may have used it to support your children's transition planning. Today, we'll be using information from page sixty-six of the Texas Transition and Employment Guide. The terms that appear on this slide may be familiar to you because of your graduation planning, or from conversations you had during meetings of your child's admission, review, and retirement committee, or ARD. We decided to highlight them at the beginning of this presentation so that you can learn more about terms that are not familiar to you. Notice that, on the left side, we see terms that apply to all students, such as essential Texas knowledge and skills, or TEKS TICS. These are the curriculum standards of Texas public schools. The other terms on this list are course, credit, diploma, distinguished level of achievement, end-of-course evaluations, or IOC, for their acronym in English, specializations, performance awards and personal graduation plan, or PGP, for its acronym in English. On the right side, we see terms related to special education services. During the webinar, we will also discuss services and programs for people over the age of eighteen, adaptations such as adjustments or modifications, certificates available to students who have completed four years of high school but have not yet graduated, and the courses of study that are part of the transition planning requirements. Let's start with the requirements that any student must meet to earn a high school diploma in a Texas public school. The first point I want to highlight is that in Texas all students are eligible to obtain the same diploma, regardless of the type of support they need. You'll hear me describe graduation programs and other options, but there's only one diploma. That means that if your child meets the requirements with significant adaptations to curriculum standards, they will receive the same diploma as the other students in their class. If your child is in high school, they should have a personal graduation plan, often of, well, often referred to as PGP. This document lists the classes the student will take to earn their high school diploma and prepare for college and career. You may see it included in your child's IEP, such as in the courses of study required by transition planning. Using the infographic in the Texas Transition and Employment Guide, we see that the elementary or elementary high school program is a flexible graduation program that allows students to follow their interests and prepare for high-paying, highly qualified and in-demand occupations. To earn a diploma through the elementary or elementary school program, a student must earn at least twenty-two credits, or more, if required by a school system. This page summarizes the number of credits needed in each subject, such as four credits in English, two credits in languages other than English, and one credit in physical education, OPE. Keep in mind that a course is a learning opportunity, usually a class, that addresses the curriculum of a subject. A credit is a unit of measure awarded for successfully completing a high school course. The main conclusion is that all students, including students with disabilities, must complete a minimum of twenty-two credits and five EOC assessments. If your child's school requires credits in addition to those required by the state, these are required for all students, unless local policy outlines other options for students with disabilities. Later in that webinar, you will be informed about the options that ARD committees should consider for students who need adjustments to graduation requirements. In addition to what is required, there are optional certifications and awards to the basic, or fundamental, high school program. To become certified, students complete a series of classes grouped by interests or abilities. By completing a certification, students gain in-depth knowledge that allows them to access high-paying and in-demand occupations. Students can earn more than one certification, or they can graduate without any certification if their parents sign the waiver form. Performance awards recognize outstanding achievements in specific areas. These distinctions appear on the high school transcript and will increase students' chances of successfully entering college or the world of work. The distinguished level of achievement offers many educational and employment opportunities, beyond high school. Achieving a distinguished level of achievement increases students' chances of admission to selective universities and equips them with the skills to pursue university studies. For more information about certification options and other improvements at your child's school, please talk to your school's local school counselor. The last consideration for graduation planning is the Texas program. A student who earns all the required credits with a distinguished level of achievement and meets certain exam criteria may graduate early. This program allows students who complete the requirements and enroll in a public institution of higher education in Texas to opt for a scholarship. Additional information for both high school counselors and parents can be found on the on-screen website called Texas First program, Texas High Education Coordinating Board. This concludes our brief overview of the requirements for obtaining a diploma in Texas. Below, we will review some of the considerations that ARD committees must take into account to adapt these requirements to each student appropriately. Now, many parents are thinking about the level of academic rigor needed to meet graduation requirements, and are wondering what the options are for their children with disabilities. As mentioned, all students must earn the same amount of credits to meet the requirements of the basic, or fundamental, secondary education program, certifications and other special awards. If graduation requirements cannot be adapted, we will now explore instructional options specially designed to meet the child's disability-related needs. This slide includes text from the infographic we presented on page sixty-six of the Texas Transition and Employment Guide. When we think about instruction specially designed for the required curriculum, it's important to consider the difference between adaptations and modifications. Adaptations reduce, or even eliminate, the effect of disability on academic tasks, but they don't change learning expectations. Adaptations can change the way the student learns new information or how they demonstrate what they have learned, but they do not change the level of mastery established for all students in the course. Amendments reduce the amount and complexity of a course's curriculum. The student will learn the same subjects, but will not be required to achieve the level of proficiency established for all students in the course. Make sure you know if special education support is considered a modification or an adaptation. For example, consider using a calculator as a special education aid. If the student's ARD committee recommends that the student be allowed to use a calculator for homework and tests. The determination of whether it is an adaptation or a modification will depend on the content being taught. If the objective of the task is to solve multi-step verbal problems, the use of a calculation device to support mathematical calculations is probably an adaptation. If the objective of the task is to demonstrate the multiplication of three digits by two digits with regrouping, the use of a calculation device to support mathematical calculations is probably a modification. If you're not sure if the support your child is receiving is considered a modification, ask your child's ARD committee for more information. You might be wondering, what impact could these adjustments or modifications have on your child's graduation options? A very good question. And as we shared earlier, there is a diploma for all Texas students that they can earn through the basic or elementary high school program. We also describe the certifications and awards that students can earn based on their academic achievements. For students with disabilities who need modifications and have completed courses to obtain certification, the ARD committee will determine if the curriculum, as modified, will be rigorous enough to obtain certification. This also applies to students who have completed the requirements for the distinguished level of achievement. While the interpretation of a curriculum is sufficiently rigorous, it is not something that the Texas education agency can define beyond what is included in the standard. ARD committee members may find it useful to ask themselves questions such as what content areas or courses required a modified curriculum and what types of modifications were necessary, and any other information about the student's academic access. Now, this brings us to the time when a student graduates or, in exceptional cases, reaches the maximum age without completing the credit requirements to graduate. Any student with an IEP who is going to receive a diploma or who is over the maximum age of eligibility must be provided with a performance summary, SOP, for its acronym in English. The SOP should include a summary of the child's academic achievement and functional performance, as well as recommendations on how to help the student achieve their post-secondary goals. In Texas, there are additional requirements that must be included in the SOP, as appropriate, and including options, forgiveness, including parent and student opinions, and written recommendations from adult service agencies on how to help students achieve post-secondary goals. The SOP can be a very useful resource for describing the strengths and supports that work best to meet disability-related needs. Talk to your ARD committee to ask about SOP, especially during your child's last year of public school. Now, an exciting topic is the graduation ceremony itself. Students and their families are looking forward to celebrating the end of high school by participating in graduation ceremonies. Most students who cross the stage wearing their gown and cap will receive a diploma. However, some students may receive a certificate that allows them to participate in the ceremony without graduating. There are two types of certificates. The course funding certificate is for students who have completed all of the required credits, but still need to pass enough evaluations to graduate. Not all schools offer that certificate. The other type is the certificate of attendance. All students who receive special education services and who have completed four years of high school, but who will continue to be enrolled to complete their IEP, are eligible to participate in graduation ceremonies with their group. Any student who receives a certificate will be able to receive a diploma after completing graduation requirements. Next, we'll talk about eligibility to continue services after graduation. Right now, we're thinking about students who completed graduation requirements and received a certificate of attendance if they participated in the graduation ceremony with their promotion. You may have heard the term eighteen plus program in English to describe the services provided to students who are eligible to remain enrolled after meeting graduation requirements. It's important to consider the difference between services and programs. Services for people over the age of eighteen are provided as part of a free and appropriate public education, or FAPE, for its acronym in English. Services, in services, there is no comprehensive list of services that a school district is required to provide, and services will be determined by the ARD committee based on the results of the transition evaluations and other relevant information about the student. Programs for people over the age of eighteen can be established by school districts to provide these services, based on local policy and district priorities. And they can be an effective way to organize staff, location, materials and other needs. Students and parents don't need to know the administrative code, also called commissioner rules, that govern recording requirements for students with disabilities. However, it seems that the Texas administrative code, TAC, eighty-nine, one, zero, seventy, is worth mentioning during this webinar. This rule outlines the ways that students who receive special education services can earn a diploma. Remember, when we review the types of accommodations, such as adaptations and modifications for students who completed credits and evaluations at the same academic level established for all students, eligibility for FAPE ends when the diploma is awarded. Students who needed a modified curriculum or who did not meet the academic level for EOC evaluations are eligible to continue receiving services. Eligibility for services for people over the age of eighteen also applies to students who graduated, received their diploma or retired, were removed from the special education program. If the student or parents request to resume services and the student is not yet twenty-two years of age, a meeting of the ARD committee must be held to determine the necessary special education services. Remember that there is no exhaustive list of services that a school district must provide. Services for students who are still enrolled will be determined by the ARD committee. Now, will the necessary accommodations have an impact on college admission? To answer this question, we'll start with the website, myTexas Future, and Joanne will follow up with this slide to talk a little more about that image. MyTexas future, or the MyTexas future website, is published by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, in collaboration with TEA and the Texas Workforce Commission. This website contains a wealth of information on university planning, including how to apply for and pay for higher education. It's important to know that each university determines its own admission requirements, including entrance exams. If your child has a disability that affects their access to academic content, be sure to help them learn ways to describe their strengths and needs related to the disability. The legal requirements for public schools to provide services under the IDEA are different from the legal protections for people with disabilities in college, community or career, under the American Disabilities Act, or ADA, for its acronym in English. Some of the supports your child currently receives may not be available, not available in the higher education programs you want to force. Use the Texas transition and employment guide to prepare for conversations related to college planning. Questions to ask your ARD committee include, what adaptations or modifications have helped me succeed in my classes? And who can I talk to if I have more questions about planning for college education? Some of the recommended questions to ask your high school college and career counselor include? What is the deadline for requesting adjustments to the entrance exam, such as SAT, ACT, or others? Another question is, what information will I need to complete and submit the free application for federal student aid, or FFSA in English, or the application for Texas state financial aid, or TAFSA, in English. Another question is, do you know any students who have graduated from this center and who can talk to me about the university? When you visit or contact the universities that interest you, there is a list of questions you should ask the office of disability services, and among them are, what are the admission requirements for this school or program? Is there an entrance exam? When and how much will it cost to complete this program? What support is available for students with disabilities? What documentation will I need to get the services? And are there students with disabilities similar to mine who are willing to talk to me about their experiences at this school? Lots of questions to ask. Now we have another resource to consider for university planning. This is the list of post-secondary programs and services for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This list can be found on the Texas board of higher education coordinators website, or you can check with your DAP. Now, before we conclude today's webinar, we're going to give you some recommendations on the next steps to take and links to the resources we shared today. To effectively plan for graduation, encourage your child to talk to their school counselor about their plans. Review your child's personal graduation plan, SOP, and talk to your ARD committee about the supports you need in your classes. Learn about your goal to remain enrolled and receive services after meeting graduation requirements. And use the Texas Transition and Employment Guide to plan conversations about preparing for high school or college. The links to the resources of some of the ones we talked about today are available on the screen. Some of these links are not available in Spanish, but you can use their translation function on your computer to view those, of those links in your language. We thank all of you very much for joining us today and talking about this very important topic. Thank you for being with us, and we'll be back with Marjana Antunez again to talk to us about Partners Resource Network. Marjana. Thank you very much to everyone, to Janet, to Joanne, for all the information you have given today. Transition is one of my favorite topics, because it is a topic that always talks about the future, and as they said very well today, so that you, all of you who are attending or who are going to see this webinar on through, excuse me, through our sites, social networks or other subsequent media or recording, it is important that you remember this. The transition in Texas formally begins or must begin when children turn fourteen. At that time, these resources that have been shared with you today and are on screen, and you can also receive them with access to the slide deck, to the slides in general, will be crucial for families to guide their children so that they can graduate and that they can live an independent life after high school. For all those families who require more information, do not hesitate to contact us. On the screen they see our phone, our email and our website. Please call us and the regional coordinators will be happy to help. Thank you very much and good afternoon to everyone. Thank you, Maryana, and they are an excellent resource for everyone. Another resource that you also have is us, the people of SveTex. If you have questions about special education, please contact SveTex, we are your information resource for everything related to special education. We are happy to help. Our contact information is also on the screen.