1. Exceptional Lives
  2. Massachusetts Guides
  3. Transition to Adulthood
  4. Transition planning in high school

The Transition Planning Form (TPF)

The Transition Plan will be written in this form, which is separate from the IEP.

image of a IEP vs a TPF. An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a legal document. The school district is required to follow it. A Transition Planning Form (TPF) is a planning tool, not a legal document. Make sure the IEP includes goals that address the disability-related needs and support the future vision from the TPF.

Here's what you can do:

  • Use the TPF as a tool to help understand the support your child will need during transition. But then make sure the specific goals and services are written into the IEP.

  • Think carefully about the skills your child will need for their life after school. Job readiness? Self-advocacy? Independent living skills like shopping and managing money? What support will they need (because of their disability) to learn these skills?

  • Make sure these skills are written into the IEP goals, along with the services to support them.

Click on the link at the bottom of the page to download a blank copy of the TPF. (It will open in a new window or appear in the bottom corner of your screen.)

The Action Plan section should describe what each of these different groups will do to help your child meet their goals:

  1. Your child

  2. You the family

  3. The school

  4. Other service agencies. For example, the Mass Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) may provide some vocational training or help finding an internship.

For more about the TPF, click on this resource from the Mass DOE: Using the Transition Planning Form. (It will open in a new tab.)

Source: MA DOE