Transition services at the high school level can make a positive difference in the postsecondary outcomes of students with disabilities by providing them a program of study or training at the secondary level. Transition services can also assist them in aquiring an education, vocational training, rehabilitative services, and work opportunities as they enter the postsecondary world of young adulthood. The purpose of this study is to compare the transition programs of 3 Southwest Virginia school systems in an effort to determine the difference a full-time transition coordinator could make in the postsecondary outcomes for students with disabilities. Findings revealed significant differences in the outcomes of students with disabilities in the 3 Southwest Virginia county school systems and the Commonwealth of Virginia Public Schools. Differences were revealed in (1) the percentage of students with disabilities who graduated with regular diplomas (either advanced or standard diplomas) and (2) the percentage of students who met the definition of Indicator 14. Each of the 3 Southwest Virginia county school systems has fewer positive outcomes than did students in the Commonwealth of Virginia Public Schools. Analysis also revealed there were no significant differences between Southwest Virginia school systems with and without a full-time transition coordinator in relation to postsecondary education, vocational training, and employment outcomes. The system with a full-time transition coordinator (Wise County) had least positive outcomes than did each of the other 2 Southwest Virginia county school systems. While there were no significant differences in the county with a full-time transition coordinator and the 2 counties without the coordinators, the graduation rates could have been even lower if the one county did not have a full-time transition coordinator.

There is abundant research relating to transition supports and services for students with disabilities as they move out of high school into adulthood; however, relatively little is known about the relationship between the type of special education services they received and their postschool outcomes. Guided by the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and Tennessee’s Indicator 14 survey, I sought to better understand the relationship between the type of special education services received in high school and student further schooling or employability after graduation. Data were drawn from Indicator 14 surveys from 2021 and 2024 conducted by a rural school district in Tennessee. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine if there is a significant difference in postschool outcomes for students with disabilities who received supports through different service delivery methods in the high school setting. Through the Indicator 14 surveys, students and their parents reflected on what the student had done within the year since graduating from high school. Questions gathered information about work history, postsecondary enrollment, and other related topics. To investigate the relationship between postschool outcomes and student services, information was also assessed about the services that students received as well as their manner of exit from high school (general education diploma, special education diploma, alternate academic diploma, or drop out). Data analysis revealed that students who received consultation services in high school were significantly more likely to attend some type of postsecondary education program. There was no significant relationship between type of service and employability. Diploma or exit type also played a role in student outcomes, as well as the disability category under which they were served. Students who earned a general education diploma were more likely to attend some type of postsecondary education program than their peers who earned a special education diploma or dropped out of school. Similarly, students who were served under the specific learning disability category were more likely than their peers served under all other disability categories to attend some type of postsecondary education program and be employed.