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Transition: Summary of Performance (SOP)
IDEA 2004
The requirements for the SOP are found in the Federal Regulations at 34 CFR §300.305(e)(3). State Summary of Performance Requirements The information in the Summary of Performance should be based on your child’s unique needs and her goals after she graduates from high school, although IDEA does not spell out specifically what the SOP must contain. Since specific information that must be included in a student's SOP will vary by state, parents should become familiar with their state's requirements. Check to see if your state Department of Education has developed a policy on the SOP development process. State Summary of Performance Links National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT). This Summary of Performance (SoP) Packet was created by the State Support Team Region 1 Regional Transition Council in an effort to facilitate an efficient, effective transition process that promotes interagency collaboration for students with disabilities who are graduating/aging out from school-age educational services. https://transitionta.org/sites/default/files/SUMMARY%20OF%20PERFORMANCE%20Packet.pdf. One Example of State Policy This "Intent of the SOP" was previously posted at the South Dakota ODE. It is no longer available on the website. The word “summary” provides a clue to the intent of the new requirement. Special Education professionals accumulate a wealth of information regarding their students, including: life goals, preferences and interests, functional and academic strengths and needs, needed accommodations, strategies for success, etc. In the past, much of this information simply ended up in a dead file, and even when file documents were copied for future service providers, they were not always in a useful and up-to-date format for the next provider. IDEIA 2004 requires that in lieu of an exit evaluation, a summary of performance be prepared during the student’s exit year. A well-written Summary of Performance may make the reader feel like they know the student. The Summary of Performance (SOP) is discussed as part of evaluation procedures. While the SOP is very closely tied to information contained in the IEP, it should be a separate document which condenses and organizes the key information that should follow the student. The summary document (SOP) is required upon the student’s graduation with a regular diploma or age-out from special education services. However, as a best practice, educators could choose to prepare an SOP earlier for students who are: transferring to another school, meeting with the Disability Coordinator at a college, applying for Vocational Rehabilitation Services, or visiting an Adjustment Training Center. Since the intent of the SOP is to provide crucial information to those people who may assist the student in the future, providing that information when it is most timely makes sense. Current Summary of Performance Form is here: Current Summary of Performance, South Dakota DOE, OESS is here. Summary of Performance Checklist https://transitionta.org/sites/default/files/SOP%20Document%20NCDPI_final_11-14-13.pdf Model Summary of Performance Form In 2005, the National Transition Documentation Summit, a group of secondary and postsecondary representatives, rehabilitation specialists, consumer advocates, and parents, produced a model template for the Summary of Performance. It is available to be freely copied or adapted for educational purposes. The model template has been developed in collaboration with the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT), Division on Learning Disabilities (DLD), and Council on Educational Diagnostic Services (CEDS), Learning Disability Association (LDA), the Higher Education Consortium for Special Education (HECSE), and the Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD). This sample form provides very detailed and helpful information regarding the supports the student will need to be successful after high school. Parents should check their State Education Agency or school district to see if they have developed a model form for the SOP. Resources Questions and Answers on Secondary Transition. US Department of Education says State and local officials have the flexibility to determine the appropriate content to be included in a child’s SOP, based on the child’s individual needs and postsecondary goals. Top NTACT REsources for Transition Specialists. The NTACT website contains resources to assist practitioners in implementing quality transition practices based on the best available evidence. We have identified the following 13 resources as some of the most useful fortransition specialists or coordinators. The National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT) provides links to State Summary of Performance (SOP) forms as well as other state transition resources. How does the Summary of Performance Requirement Impact Practice? The word 'summary' provides a clue. from the IL State Board of Ed training - Supporting Students' Post-School Success. Summary of Performance: Project Forum at NASDSE March 2008.
More About Life After High School Transition, Transition Services, and Transition Planning College and Continuing Education Created: 03/08/10 |
When your child graduates from high school with a regular diploma or “ages out” of special education, IDEA requires the school to provide a “summary of academic achievement and functional performance.” The Summary of Performance (SOP) should include recommendations about ways to help meet post-secondary goals. 
For information about Graduation and Summary of Performance, read
Chapter 9: Transition to Life After School in 
