UC Riverside

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 mandates that students with disabilities receive transition planning and services to support successful postsecondary transitions; however, these postsecondary transitions are not the only significant transitions for these students. Another critical transition occurs from middle to high school, which can be particularly challenging for many adolescents due to newfound independence, increased organizational demands, and higher academic expectations. Despite the importance of this transition, there is a notable scarcity of research focusing on the need for support during the middle to high school transition. Even fewer studies have examined how school psychologists and special education teachers, also known as case carriers, consider sociocultural factors such as socioeconomic status (SES) when helping students with disabilities transition to the next phase of their education. These factors play a significant role in shaping behaviors and attitudes and influencing available resources within the community. This study will employ a convergent mixed methods research design to investigate how school psychologists and special education teachers in middle and high schools incorporate student SES when planning transitions for students with disabilities and how they perceive the importance of the student’s SES in this process.

Keywords: Transition Planning, Transition Services, Special Education, School Psychologist, Socioeconomic Status