Introduces practitioners and pre-service instructors to transition services and the new transition requirements for secondary students under IDEA 2004. This brief book advances a new vision of transition as a unifying framework for post-secondary planning for youth. Using side-by-side frameworks, it explains the connections between transition services and standards-based education, as well as the connections between IDEA 2004 and the No Child Left Behind Act. The book provides an introduction to the new Summary of Performance (SOP) that is required by every school district for all youth with disabilities who have IEPs, and will present a first of its kind template for a nationally ratified SOP available to state and local educational agencies. This book is for all who work with special needs students in secondary schools and those preparing youth for transition to post-secondary education and employment, including special and general education teachers, school and guidance counselors, transition coordinators, administrators and many others.Features: *Provides readers with a concrete understanding of how transition services and post-secondary goals serve as a unifying framework for individualized education planning, blended within a standards-based framework. *Side-by-side frameworks make clear for readers the connections between the IDEA 2004 transition requirements and NCLB.*Essential transition services are described in a 'pathways' framework to fit the different needs of youth, enabling readers to understand the spectrum of transition services in the context of individualized students' needs and IEPs.*Defines the new IDEA 2004 Summary of Performance requirements and provides a unique, sample template, aiding student understanding of the SOP requirement.*Case examples and illustrations in each chapter will help readers apply the information to real students.