Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) authorizes state and local programs for children from birth to age 3. Part B of the law authorizes programs for children and youth ages 3 to 21. It can be helpful for you to distinguish the requirements for Part C from those of Part B. The Comparison of IDEA Part C and Part B Policy Advisory provides a comparison and contrast on 9 criteria.
Our Parents' Rights and Roles Policy Advisory describes IDEA’s requirements related to transition planning for children leaving early intervention and entering preschool, as well as IDEA’s requirements on the content of the IEP and the related services provided through Part B programs. More detailed information is available in a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Turning Three” which is largely based on IDEA with some references to Massachusetts state law.
Only a few court decisions address transition from early intervention to preschool. They involve the continuation of services and the preschool’s liability if it does not act timely to provide services. Check out Court Decisions in Planning for Transition to learn about these court decisions and actions you can take if you are not satisfied with the IEP for your child’s preschool program.
Four R's: Remark, Recall, Reason, Response
The Four R’s synthesizes the information in the Knowledge Bank and provides guidance in how to reply to comments that parents might hear from educators during transition planning. This tool was developed from discussion contents of the Early Childhood Family Support Community of Practice (ECFSCoP) and a related wiki created by CoP