Designing and Implementing PSE Opportunities for  Students with ID: An Illustration of Quality, Access, and Inclusion: A Case Study of Quality, Access, and Inclusion

Robert Flexer; Robert Baer; Rachel McMahan Queen

doi:10.13021/jipe.2021.2940

Authors

Robert Flexer Kent State University
Robert Baer
Rachel McMahan Queen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13021/jipe.2021.2940

Keywords:

IDD, college experience, sustainability, CTP

Abstract

The college experience described in this paper created normative opportunities for exploration and development on a university campus for students with intellectual disabilities (ID). This project was one of 27 Transition and Post-secondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disability (TPSID) projects to receive a five-year grant in 2010 from the Office of Postsecondary Education (U.S. Department of Education). The purpose of this case study article was to describe the process for meeting criteria for TPSID funding and subsequent university approval. A major question addressed the design features that support the achievement of academic, career, and independent living goals through an experience that matches that of degree seeking students and meets requirements of a Comprehensive Postsecondary Transition Program (CTP). The second question addressed project implementation issues requiring resolution to achieve sustainability and university program approval. In other words, the history of project implementation and policy development was provided with an assessment of the degree and manner with which TPSID grant goals and university approval were met. The major implication is the importance of the integration of policy and research at all levels of the university to inform practice. This may provide a structured framework for programs pursuing sustainability and institutional commitment.

Author Biographies

Robert Flexer, Kent State University

Dr. Flexer is an Emeritus Professor of Special Education and a Distinguished Scholar at Kent State
University. He founded the CITE and created the Kent State Transition Collaborative, a partnership
between local schools and employers on campus to provide career exploration and job skills training for
high school students with disabilities. He obtained funding to pilot the Career and Community Studies
program, a four-year college TPSID with 18 graduates in 2015, which became an official program of the
university the same year.

Robert Baer

He was the CITE Director for 10 years; securing (with Dr. Flexer) over 23 million dollars in grants
for personnel preparation in transition, model demonstration, and research. He developed the Ohio
Longitudinal Transition Study and worked closely with Ohio’s Office for Exceptional Children to create
the data collection mechanism for the state’s Indicator 14 data collection protocol.

Rachel McMahan Queen

Rachel works closely with Ohio’s Indicator 14 requirement for collecting postschool outcome data
on students with disabilities (The Ohio Longitudinal Transition Study). She coordinated and provided
instruction for OSEP personnel preparation grants for Kent State University’s Transition to Work
Endorsement (TTW) graduate level program. She provides technical assistance and support to districts
continuous improvement process for transition.