Get Ready for the New School Year!
A successful school year starts with preparation, communication, and partnership. These tips can help students begin the year with confidence.
Before School Starts
- Review your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) to refresh yourself on their goals, accommodations, and services.
- Share important information about your child with new teachers, including strengths, interests, communication style, and strategies that work well.
- Visit the school, classroom, or bus route ahead of time, if possible, to reduce anxiety.
- Establish consistent sleep, meal, and morning routines a couple of weeks before school begins.
Build Positive Relationships
- Introduce yourself via email to your child’s teachers and related service providers early in the year.
- Approach the school as partners working toward the same goal: your child’s success.
- Keep communication respectful, collaborative, and focused on solutions.
Help Your Child Prepare
- Talk positively about returning to school while acknowledging any worries your child may have.
- Practice important skills such as opening lockers, organizing backpacks, using communication devices, or following daily routines.
- Consider requesting photos of your child’s new classroom, teacher, and/or an opportunity to meet the teacher during a less hectic time than Open House.
Stay Organized
- Create a system to track school communications, IEP documents, and progress reports.
- Use calendars, reminders, or apps to stay up to date on assignments, school events, and meetings.
- Check backpacks, communication folders, online portals, and classroom apps regularly.
Monitor the Transition
- The first few weeks of school are an adjustment. Watch for signs that your child may need additional support with organizing, planning, and their emotions.
- Celebrate successes and recognize progress as your child settles in.
Encourage Independence
- If your child is able to, allow her/him to take on age-appropriate responsibilities, such as packing their backpack, tracking assignments, or communicating with teachers. If they need support, help them learn those skills.
- Remind your child of their strengths and celebrate their successes.
The IEP team is required to meet at least once annually to review and update a student’s IEP. If you have concerns about your child’s progress or goals, you can request an IEP meeting at any time by sending the request in writing to your child’s IEP Case Manager and the school principal.
Updated Notice of Procedural Safeguards
The Office of Exceptional Children (OEC) will soon release an updated Notice of Procedural Safeguards: Parent’s Rights and Responsibilities in Special Education, providing families with current information about their rights and protections available through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The Notice of Procedural Safeguards explains the legal rights parents have throughout the special education process, including participation in meetings, access to educational records, prior written notice, independent educational evaluations, dispute resolution options, mediation, state complaints, due process hearings, and protections related to student discipline.
Parents are encouraged to review the revised notice and keep a copy for future reference as they work collaboratively with their child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) team.
Planning for Life After High School
Preparing for adulthood is an important part of every student’s educational journey. Transition planning helps students build the knowledge, skills, and connections they need to achieve their goals after high school, whether that includes employment, postsecondary education or training, independent living, or community participation. These programs provide services, resources, and opportunities designed to help students develop self-determination, explore options, and successfully navigate the transition from high school to adult life.
The North Carolina Division of Employment and Independence for People with Disabilities (EIPD) administers Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) through partner agencies, which provides free vocational and workplace readiness training for students with disabilities ages 14 to 21:
- The Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center (ECAC) offers the ACHIEVE Transition Program designed for students with disabilities ages 14 to 21. This virtual program is available to all counties in North Carolina. Topics include self-advocacy skills, job exploration counseling, interviewing skills, independent living skills, and workplace readiness. Students must have a documented disability and be enrolled in high school or college. The fully virtual program is a 12-16 week course with meetings once a week for one hour. Sessions include a maximum of 10 students.
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The Arc North Carolina East Region supports students ages 14-21 through Workplace Readiness and Job Exploration exercises using one-on-one meetings with a Youth Transition Specialist. Students complete an interest inventory and decide on job interests to explore, and have opportunities to speak with employers in their fields of interest. Topics include workplace expectations, how to prepare for an interview, and conflict resolution in the workplace.
The Arc North Carolina Charlotte Region offers Project SEARCH, which involves an extensive period of skills training and career exploration, innovative adaptation, long-term job coaching, and feedback from parents, skills trainers, and employers. The goal is for interns to be employed in nontraditional, complex, and rewarding jobs. Project SEARCH serves young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who have a desire to achieve employment, are eligible for EIPD, and have reliable daily transportation to the program.
The TEACCH School Transition to Employment and Postsecondary Education Program (T-STEP) is a free college class to help autistic students transition to adulthood. Students must be on the autism spectrum who will or have received a Future-Ready Core high school diploma. Participants receive group and individualized sessions on skills to support transition to adulthood, counseling in career exploration, higher education, and self-advocacy, and learn to identify skills, strengths, and supports they can use in post-secondary and employment settings. The program is available at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Cape Fear Community College, Guilford Technical Community College, and Wake Technical Community College. Available locations change from semester to semester and include a mix of in-person and online learning.
Work Together NC offers an Employment Toolkit for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, which covers topics that include identifying an individual’s strengths and support needs, the type of work they are interested in, who can support them through the transition process, learning about internships, volunteering, and postsecondary education, and applying for jobs.
The Ablr Futures initiative provides virtual, year-round Pre-ETS programs for high school and college-aged students who are blind or visually impaired. This program is designed to empower participants as they explore career paths, gain practical workplace skills, and cultivate the self-advocacy necessary to lead an independent and successful life after graduation.
OE Enterprises offers employment and vocational training to individuals with disabilities in Orange, Alamance, Caswell, Durham, Rockingham, Guilford and Randolph counties. The agency partners with local school districts and EIPD to deliver Pre-ETS and Project SEARCH.
Inclusive Postsecondary Learning Opportunities
Inclusive Postsecondary Education (IPSE) programs provide college experiences for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Students take classes with neurotypical peers, complete internships, and join campus clubs. IPSE programs help students transition to adulthood and, like all college students, they learn how to manage their time, advocate for their needs, build friendships, gain career skills, live independently, and work toward a career.
Students enrolled in an IPSE program:
- Audit or take credit courses tailored to their career goals;
- Live in dorms, attend sports games, and join student clubs;
- Complete internships and job training to prepare for independent, paid work; and,
- Graduate with a specialized certificate or credential instead of a traditional 4-year degree.
University options:
- Appalachian State University’s Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program (SDAP) provides an immersive college experience in which students connect and build relationships with their peers.
- UNC Greensboro’s Integrative Community Studies (ICS) is a four-year certificate program for students who are interested in furthering their education. The program emphasizes self-determination, life planning, and career development.
- NC State University’s Elevate offers a 4-year non-degree program for students with IDD. The program provides a person-centered campus experience and fosters self-determination, dignity of experience, and supported decision-making. Scholarships are offered to supplement tuition.
- South Piedmont Community College offers occupational support programs for students.
- University Participant (UP) Program at Western Carolina University provides a two-year, on-campus living and learning experience for college-aged individuals. The program facilitates transition from secondary school to adult life.
Community college options:
- Central Carolina Community College hosts the Bridge to Earning, Learning & Living (B.E.L.L. Academy), an adult education initiative. This program focuses on strengthening foundational abilities and fostering independence across multiple campus locations. Locations include Silver City Center, Harnett Adult Education Center, and Sanford, Lee County Main Campus.
- Brunswick Community College offers the Brunswick Interagency Program for adults, which helps students build independence, job skills, and social connections.
- The Catawba Valley Community College hosts the Adult Basic Education (ABE) Academy, which focuses on academic and life skill advancement.
- South Piedmont Community College offers dedicated occupational and support programs for students.
- Wake Technical Community College offers vocational training programs for adults
Play for All: Inclusive Sports Programs
Inclusive programs ensure that athletes of all abilities have opportunities to compete in sports programs they love and develop friendships with individuals who share the same passion.
Bridge II Sports programs in Durham include archery, air rifle, bocce, and cycling. Their partner agencies in the Triangle offer wheelchair tennis, goal ball, sled hockey, golf, esports, bowling, lacrosse, power soccer and adaptive golf.
Special Olympics North Carolina offers year-round sports training and athletic competition for Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. There are nearly 100 accredited local programs serving almost every county in the state. Local programs host Spring Games from March through May.
We Rock the Spectrum is an indoor gym that encourages play while stimulating any of the seven senses. The sensory friendly gym includes sensory safe equipment and classes. Locations are planned throughout North Carolina, with gyms currently open in Asheville, Cary, and Hickory.
Agencies of Interest:
Office of Special Education Programs (U.S. Department of Education)
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (U.S. Department of Education)
N.C. Department of Public Instruction
Upcoming Events:
Autism Society of North Carolina
Austism Speaks
The Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education
Exceptional Children's Assistance Center
Family Support Network
National Alliance on Mental Illness
NC ABLE
NC Down Syndrome Alliance
Special Olympics of North Carolina
Triangle Disability & Autism Services
Do you have an event you would like to share with the community? Please email with information.
Contact information:
Johanna Lynch, IDEA Parent Liaison
Office of Exceptional Children, NCDPI
Email: johanna.lynch@dpi.nc.gov
Historical newsletters can be found in the Parent Newsletter Google Folder.
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