Navigating Graduation: Considerations for Families with Disabilities: 2025-2026 Webinar

Good afternoon, and welcome to today's statewide webinar hosted by SpedTech's and Partners Resource Network. My name is Sarah Untersi, and I am part of the SpedTech's team. The topic for today's webinar is navigating graduation, considerations for families of students with disabilities. A few reminders. This webinar is being recorded, and the recording will be posted to our SpedTech site. It usually takes about a week in order for that to be posted, but we will drop our website link in the chat so that you are able to access that once it becomes available. The chat feature is only available if you require technical assistance. However, you may put questions in the Q and A section. The presenters will review your submissions, which will help us with clarifications and FAQs in the future. However, there will be no live q and a today. SPED TEX is the special education information center for Texas. We are a collaborative project between region ten Education Service Center and the Texas Education Agency. We help parents understand their rights and responsibilities under IDEA and facilitate collaboration when there are concerns with the parent and the school district. We also serve as a resource for educators. We offer support via phone, email, or live chat for families and professionals, webinars, resources. Our contact information is on the screen. I'm now going to turn it over to Stephanie McLaughlin to share some additional information about Partners Resource Network. Good afternoon, and welcome. My name is Stephanie, and I am the training and evaluation specialist for Partners Resource Network. Partners Resource Network is the nonprofit agency that operates the Texas statewide network of parent training and information centers. We are funded through the Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs. And throughout Texas, you may know us by our project names PACT, PATH, PEN and TEAM. Our mission here at Partners Resource Network is to empower and support Texas families and individuals impacted by disabilities or special health care needs. We do this through a network of highly skilled regionally located coordinators who are knowledgeable in local policies, services and resources, as well as state and national guidelines. We provide training information and one on one assistance at no cost to Texas families and youth. We serve parents of children and youth with disabilities from birth to age twenty six, as well as youth self advocates between the ages of fourteen and twenty six. All of our services are provided in both English and Spanish. Thanks, Stephanie. We are so excited to welcome our presenters, Elizabeth Danner and Logan Minshew. Elizabeth is the state transition coordinator at the Texas Education Agency. Logan is the deputy director of counseling, advising and student support at the Texas Education Agency. At this time, I am going to stop sharing and I'm going to turn it over to Elizabeth and Logan. Thanks so much. I'll get my screen shared. Thanks so much for having us today. All right, so we are going to start with the questions that likely brought many of you to today's webinar. You may be wondering about the requirements for all students to earn a diploma or about the options to adapt those requirements for students with disabilities. If your child needs modifications to curriculum, struggles to pass the STAR assessments, or they take an alternate assessment, you may wonder if that will have an impact on their graduation pathway or their options beyond high school. Some of you may have heard that special education services are available until age twenty two for some students, and you're wondering whether your child will be eligible to continue enrollment. This list of questions is also the list of topics we will cover during today's webinar. To get started, I'll hand it over to my colleague Logan Minshew, who will review these requirements. Thank you, Elizabeth. So we're gonna use the Texas transition and employment guide for most of today's discussion. But first, I wanted to make sure you were aware of another resource from TEA called the graduation toolkit. This resource has recently been updated and is designed to help Texas students, families, and educators understand the high school graduation requirements and plan for college, career, or the military after graduation. It provides clear guidance on the graduation programs, endorsements, academic planning, and resources to support successful transitions beyond high school. You can find the link to download your copy in English. The twenty twenty version of the graduation toolkit is available in Spanish. The updates in the twenty twenty five version were mostly changes to design and just to bring it a little bit more up to date. The content changes included information about the Texas First high school completion program and the CTE programs of study. The TEA website will include Spanish translations for the CTE programs of study beginning in spring of twenty twenty six. The Texas transition and employment guide was also updated in twenty twenty five, and it is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Chinese. Many of you have received information about this guide from your child's school or may have used this guide to support transition planning. For today, we're gonna use the information on page sixty six of the Texas transition and employment guide. There are a few terms listed on this slide, and some of them might be familiar to you, especially if you've done some graduation planning or from discussions from your child's admission review and dismissal or ARD committee meetings. We decided to highlight them at the beginning of this presentation so that you can learn more about any of the terms that you're unfamiliar with. Notice that on the left hand side, we see terms that apply for all students such as Texas Education Knowledge and Skills or TEKS. These are the curriculum standards for Texas public schools. The other terms in the list are course, credit, diploma, distinguished level of achievement, end of course or EOC assessment, endorsements, performance acknowledgements, and personal graduation plans or PGPs. On the right side, we see terms that are aligned with special education services. During this webinar, you will hear about eighteen and over services and programs adaptations such as accommodations or modifications, certificates available for students who have completed four years of high school but haven't graduated yet, and the course of study that's part of the transition planning requirements. So let's start with what are the requirements for any student to earn a high school diploma in a Texas public school. The first point I would like to highlight is that in Texas, all students are eligible to earn the same diploma no matter what type of support is needed. You'll hear me describe graduation programs and other options, but ultimately there is only one diploma. That means if your child completes the requirements with significant adaptations to the curriculum standards, they will still receive the same diploma as every other student in their graduating class. If your child is in high school, they should have a personal graduation plan. This is often referred to as the PGP. This document lists the classes the student will take to earn their high school diploma and prepare for college and career. You may also see this included in your child's IEP as the courses of study required by transition planning. There's an infographic from the Texas transition and employment guide that you can use to see that the foundation high school program is flexible. It allows students to pursue their interests and prepares them for high wage, high skill and in demand occupations. To earn a diploma through the foundation high school program, a student needs to earn at least twenty two credits or more if required by your local school district or school system. And this page summarizes the number of credits needed in each subject area, such as four credits in English, two credits in languages other than English, one credit in physical education or PE. Now notice that a course is a learning opportunity, typically called a class. That addresses the curriculum in that particular subject area. A credit is a unit of measure which would be awarded for successfully completing the content of the high school course or the TEKS within that high school course. The key takeaway is that every student, including students with disabilities, must complete a minimum of twenty two credits and five end of course assessments or EOCs If your child's for school if your child's school requires additional credits beyond the state, those are required for each student in that local policy unless there are other options described in that policy for students with disabilities. Later in this webinar, you will hear about the options for our committees to consider when trying to determine the best way to meet the needs of the students with disabilities for the graduation requirements. Additionally, there are optional enhancements found to the foundation high school program. These are called endorsements. To earn an endorsement, students complete a series of classes or groups by interest or skill. Completing an endorsement provides students with in-depth knowledge of content so that they can pursue high wage and in demand occupations. Students may earn more than one endorsement or they can graduate without an endorsement if their parent signs the opt out agreement. Performance acknowledgments recognize outstanding achievements in specific areas. These distinctions will appear on the high school transcript and enhance the student's chances of entering college and or the workforce successfully. There is also the distinguished level of achievement. This offers many educational and employment opportunities beyond high school. Earning a distinguished level of achievement increases the student's chance of admission to selective colleges and universities. It also qualifies them for the top ten percent automatic admission to Texas public universities. It will equip your students with college level coursework and skills. To learn more about specific endorsements or other enhancements that your child could add to their diploma, please speak to your local school counselor. One final consideration for graduation is a newer plan, which is called the Texas First program. A student who earns all required credit within the distinguished level of achievement and meets certain exam criteria could graduate early. This program qualifies students who complete all the requirements to enroll in a Texas public institution of higher education and to receive a scholarship. Additional information for both high school counselors and parents can be found at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's website. The link is provided on the slide below. This completes the brief review of the requirements to earn a diploma in Texas. Now Elizabeth is going to review some of the considerations for the ARC committee to adapt these requirements as appropriate for each individual student's needs. Thanks Logan. Many parents think about the level of academic rigor required to meet graduation requirements and wonder about the options for their child with a disability. As Logan shared earlier, all students need to earn the same number of credits to meet the requirements for Foundation High School Program, endorsements, While these graduation requirements cannot be adapted, we will now explore options for specially designed instruction to meet the child's disability related needs. So this slide includes text from the infographic that Logan introduced on page sixty six of the Texas transition and employment guide. When we think about specially designed instruction for the required curriculum, it's important to consider the difference between accommodations and modifications. So accommodations reduce or even eliminate the effect of your disability on academic tasks, but do not change the learning expectations. Accommodations can change how you learn new information or how you show what you have learned. They do not change the mastery level set for all students in the course. Modifications reduce the amount or the level of complexity in the curriculum for a course. You will be learning the same things, but you will not be expected to meet the mastery level that is set for all students in the course. So be sure that you know whether a special education support is considered a modification or an accommodation. For example, let's consider the use of a calculator as a special education support. If a student's ARD committee recommends that the student be allowed to use a calculator for assignments and tests, the determination of whether it is an accommodation or modification will depend on the content being taught. If the objective of the assignment is solving multistep word problems, the use of a calculation device to support math calculation is likely an accommodation. If the objective of the assignment is to demonstrate three digit x two digit multiplication with regrouping, the use of a calculation device to support math calculation is likely a modification. If you are not sure whether the support your child receives is considered a modification, ask your child's ARD committee for more information. You may also be wondering what impact these accommodations or modifications might have on your child's graduation options. As Logan shared earlier, there is one diploma for all Texas students to pursue through the Foundation High School program. Logan also described the endorsements and enhancements that students may earn based on their academic achievement. For students with disabilities who need modifications completed courses toward an endorsement, the ARD committee will determine if the curriculum, as modified, was sufficiently rigorous to earn the endorsement. This is also true for students who completed requirements for the distinguished level of achievement. And while the interpretation of sufficiently rigorous curriculum is not something that TEA can define beyond what is included in rule, Art Committee members may find it helpful to consider questions such as which content areas or courses required modified curriculum, what types of modifications were needed, and any other information about the student's academic access. And this brings us to the point where a student exits through graduation, or in rare cases, by aging out without completing credit requirements for graduation. Any student with an IEP who will be receiving a diploma or exceeding maximum age eligibility must be provided a Summary of Performance The SOP must include a summary of the child's academic achievement and functional performance, and recommendations on how to assist the student in meeting their postsecondary goals. In Texas, there are additional requirements to be included in the SOP, as appropriate, including the views of the parent and student and written recommendations from adult service agencies on how to assist the student in meeting postsecondary goals. The SOP can be a very helpful resource to describe strengths and the supports that work best to meet disability related needs. Talk with your child's ARD committee to ask about the SOP, especially during your child's final year of public school. Another exciting topic is the graduation ceremony itself. Students and families look forward to celebrating the end of high school by participating in the commencement ceremonies. Most students who cross the stage in their cap and gown will receive a diploma. However, some students may receive certificate that allows them to participate in the ceremony without graduating. There are two types of certificates. The certificate of coursework completion is for students who completed all the required credits but still need to pass enough EOC assessments to graduate. Not all schools offer this certificate. The other type is the certificate of attendance. Every student receiving special education services who has completed four years of high school but will continue enrollment to complete their IEP is eligible to participate in commencement ceremonies with their cohort. Any student who receives a certificate will be able to receive a diploma after completing graduation requirements. Next, we will talk about eligibility to continue for services after graduation. At this point, we are thinking about students who completed graduation requirements and received a certificate of attendance if they participated in the commencement ceremony with their cohort. You may have heard the term eighteen plus used to describe the services provided for students who are eligible to continue enrollment after meeting graduation requirements. It's important to think about the difference between services and programs. Eighteen plus services are provided as part of a free and appropriate public education, or FAPE. There is not a comprehensive list of services that a school district must offer. Services will be determined by the ARD committee based on the results of transition assessments and other information about the student. Eighteen plus programs may be established by school districts to provide these services, and that's based on local policy and priority, and they can be an effective way to structure the staffing, location, materials, other needs. Students who meet eligibility are entitled to services, and school systems can choose to develop programs. While students and parents do not need to know the administrative code, also called the commissioner's rules, govern graduation requirements for students with disabilities, However, it seems worth mentioning Texas Administrative Code, or TAC, section eighty nine-ten-seventy during this webinar. This rule describes the ways that students receiving special education services can be awarded a diploma. Think back to when we reviewed the types of adaptations, such as accommodations and modifications. For students who completed credits and assessments at the same academic standard set for all students, eligibility for FAPE ends when the diploma is awarded. Students who need modified curriculum or who did not meet the academic standard for EOC assessments are eligible to continue for services. Eligibility for eighteen plus services also applies for students who graduated, received their diploma, and exited. If the student or parent requests to resume services and the student has not yet reached age twenty two, an ARD committee must be held to determine needed special education services. Remember, there is not a comprehensive list of services that a school district must offer. Services for students who continue enrollment will be determined by the ARD committee. To describe the considerations for college admissions, we will hear from Logan to share his school counseling expertise. Thank you, Elizabeth. To answer this question, we are going to start with the My Texas Future website. This is published by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in coordination with the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Workforce Commission. It's often referred to as a Tri Agency Initiative. This website was a wealth of information about college and planning. It includes how you can apply and pay for your higher education or your student's higher education. It's important to know that each college or university determines admissions requirements including their entrance exam scores. If your child has a disability that impacts their access to academic content, be sure to help them learn ways to describe their strengths and their disability related needs. The legal requirements for public schools to provide services under the IDEA are different than the legal protections for people with disabilities in college, community, or career. That's covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA. Some of the supports your child currently receives may not be available in the higher education programs that they would like to pursue. You can use the Texas transition and employment guide to prepare for conversations related to college planning. Some questions you might want to ask your ARD committee include what accommodations or modifications have helped the student be successful in the class? Who could the student talk to if they have more questions about planning for higher education? Some of the recommended questions to ask the college and career counselor at the high school would be what is the timeline to apply for accommodations on any entrance exams, which could include the SAT, the ACT, or other exams required by a specific institution. What information will the student need to complete to submit the free application for federal student aid or FAFSA? Or in some circumstances to complete the Texas application for state financial aid or TASFA? Finally, do you know any students who graduated from this school who I might or who the student might be able to talk to about their experience going to college? When first visiting or contacting colleges, there's an important list of questions that you should ask the Disability Service Office. These include what are the admissions requirements for this particular program? Is the entrance exam required for all students? How much will it cost to complete the program? What supports are available for students with disabilities? What documentation will I need to receive these services? And are there students with similar disabilities to mine who could be able to share their experience and potentially walk me through the process of how to get these services at this school. Another resource that you should consider is the college plan for college planning is a list of postsecondary programs and services for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This list is also found at a website with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and it is searchable by city. Thanks, Logan. So we will wrap up today's webinar with recommendations for your next steps and links to the resources that we shared today. To plan effectively for graduation, encourage your child to talk with their school counselor about their plans. Review your child's personal graduation plan, or PGP, and talk with their ARD committee about the supports they need in their classes. Learn about their eligibility to stay enrolled, to receive services after meeting graduation requirements, and use the Texas transition and employment guide to plan for conversations about high school or college planning. And the links to the resources that we talked about today are available in the handouts on this slide. And with that, I will stop my share and hand it back to SPED Techs, and thank you very much for joining us today. And thank you to Logan for sharing his expertise. Thank you so much, Elizabeth and Logan. We are so thankful to you both for being here today and sharing all of this information. Thank you to everyone that has been here for your time. And right now, we are going to go back to Stephanie McLaughlin to share some additional information about Partners Resource Network. Thank you again, and thank you for all that information. Just as a reminder, our regional coordinators are available to help you understand and navigate the special education process. If you are not already connected with your Regional Coordinator, give us a call and we can get you connected. For more information, check out our website at prntexas dot org. You can also like and follow us on social media for Facebook or X at PRM Texas. Thanks Stephanie. Have questions about special education? Contact us at SpedTex, your source for special education information. We are happy to help. Our contact information is on the screen.