Educator Support
College Transition Planning
Educators play a vital role in preparing students with disabilities for the shift from high school to college and beyond. The following categories offer guidance on how educators can support students and families through this process.
Understanding the Shift: High School vs. College
The transition from high school to college brings new expectations—for both students and their families. In college, students are responsible for managing their time, advocating for accommodations, and understanding their rights. Educators can help families grasp the legal and practical differences between K–12 and postsecondary settings.
To support this understanding, share resources like:
- Disability Hub MN: Postsecondary Transition Overview
- PACER Center: Transition Planning Resources
- MN Department of Education: Postsecondary Transition Requirements
These tools can guide conversations about rights under IDEA vs. ADA, accommodation processes, and what families can expect from the college environment.
Family Roles in College Planning
While students grow into greater independence, families still play a critical support role—especially during the planning phase. Educators can help families gradually step back while still staying informed and supportive.
Encourage families to build skills with their student such as:
- Navigating transportation and housing options
- Completing college applications and financial aid forms
- Preparing for healthcare and self-advocacy responsibilities
Recommended resources include:
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- Disability Hub MN: Educate Families About the Transition Process
- MIHEC: Postsecondary Tools & Resources
These supports ensure families understand FERPA, ADA, and student rights—while staying involved in a way that promotes growth.
Financing for College
Paying for college is one of the most important — and often most confusing — parts of the college journey. Students and families benefit from understanding how to apply for financial aid, search for scholarships, and create a realistic college budget.
Encourage students and their families to explore federal, state, and institutional financial aid opportunities. Early preparation helps ensure that students with disabilities have access to all available support, including accommodations that may affect eligibility or program costs.
Several trusted Minnesota organizations provide tools and guides to simplify the financial planning process for higher education.
Career Exploration
The following tools are designed to support structured, student-centered career exploration within a customized employment framework. Each resource helps educators, advisors, and employment specialists guide students in identifying strengths, interests, and potential career pathways.
These worksheets and activities can be used in classroom settings, advising sessions, or work-based learning preparation to encourage reflection, build self-awareness, and connect educational experiences to real-world employment opportunities.
Together, these resources support a more intentional approach to career exploration by helping students articulate their goals, evaluate different work environments, and prepare for meaningful, competitive, and integrated employment.
Career Exploration Worksheet
Choosing a career is a process that begins with exploring your interests, strengths, and experiences. Career exploration activities help you learn about different types of work, the skills they require, and the environments where people do those jobs.
This worksheet is designed to help students begin thinking about possible career paths and reflect on their skills and interests. Through a series of short activities, students will explore different ways to learn about careers, including online career tools, job shadowing, informational interviews, and volunteer experiences.
Students may wish to begin by exploring careers through the following trusted websites:
- O*NET Online – A free career exploration website that helps users learn about occupations, job duties, skills, tools, work environments, and education or training needs.
- CareerOneStop – A free career resource with career exploration tools, job search information, and career videos.
- My Next Move – Explore careers based on your interests and learn about job tasks and skills.
- Minnesota Career & Education Explorer – Learn about wages, job demand, and training programs in Minnesota.
These resources are free to use and do not require creating an account before getting started.
After exploring a few careers, students can complete the worksheet below to reflect on what they learned.
Career Exploration Worksheet: Open the Career Exploration Worksheet
Students are encouraged to write their thoughts and ideas as they complete each section. There are no right or wrong answers. The goal is to help students become more aware of their interests and begin identifying skills they already have that can be developed for future employment.
This worksheet may be completed online or printed for use in classrooms, transition programs, or career exploration activities. It can also be used as a starting point for building a career portfolio and developing résumé skills.
Student Career Exploration Scenario Worksheet
This worksheet helps students explore career interests, strengths, and possible next steps toward employment. Students will read about Emmitt’s career journey and reflect on what they can learn from his experience. Career exploration activities like this help students think about the kinds of work environments, skills, and supports that may help them succeed in the workplace.
As students complete the worksheet, they will consider their own interests, strengths, and goals while learning how persistence, teamwork, and support systems can play an important role in career development.
Students can type their responses directly into the worksheet and then print the page or save it as a PDF when they are finished.
Open the Job Scenario Student WorksheetCustomized Employment
This section is designed to support the work that happens in real time, when you are sitting with a student, planning next steps, or trying to move an idea into action. Rather than adding more theory, these resources are meant to be practical, adaptable, and ready when you need them.
Each tool can be used as a starting point or a flexible guide. Some may help structure a conversation, while others may support documentation, reflection, or decision-making. They are intentionally designed to be straightforward so they can be used across a range of settings, whether you are working one-on-one, in small groups, or coordinating across teams.
As students move from exploring possibilities to making informed decisions about college and careers, having accessible, easy-to-use resources can make that process more consistent and meaningful. These materials are here to reduce guesswork, support clarity, and help translate planning into action in ways that center student strengths, interests, and goals.
Postsecondary Perkins Guide Resources
Grab and Go Practices: Customized Employment Series
Accessible web versions of Think College Transition Project resources
These Grab and Go Practices provide practical, research-informed guidance to support customized employment for students with disabilities.
Minnesota State is pleased to share the Grab and Go Practices series developed by the Think College Transition Project at the Institute for Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts Boston.
These resources provide practical guidance to support students with disabilities in exploring career pathways, developing employment skills, building employer connections, and achieving successful, integrated employment outcomes.