Parents' Page

Welcome, Parents!

We wish to thank the more than 6,000 parents and guardians who took the time to be interviewed in 2007. We greatly appreciate their efforts and all the information they provided-but the time you've given won't be nearly as valuable if you don't participate now. That's why it is so important to hear from you about what's happening now.

Each participating family's unique experiences will provide a rich picture of youth's education and experiences and their long-term impacts. Approximately 12,000 students were selected randomly from students served by more than 500 school districts across the country. These students represent young people with all kinds of backgrounds, abilities, and school programs.

We appreciate the involvement of so many families across the country.

Check out our current FactSheets, Data Briefs and Newsletters, for more information.

NLTS2 can help to improve schools

Information from NLTS2 will help to improve schools and other service systems by informing the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Congress, state policy-makers, parents, advocates, researchers, and educators about ways to improve educational and transition services to better meet the in-school and postschool needs of students.

We need to learn:

  • The characteristics of students who are receiving (or who have received) special education
  • The characteristics of schools and classrooms serving these students
  • Services these students receive
  • Placement options
  • Transition planning
  • Family involvement
  • Postschool experiences in education and employment
  • Self-determination
  • Expectations for the future

How can you help?

To obtain information about youth's educational and transition experiences, we need to hear from participating parents, youth, and students' schools. Participating parents and youth may contact SRI International to arrange for an interview.

Parents

  • Family Interviews We will call by phone every 2 years (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009) to ask questions about youth and their experiences.
  • Check out PACER resources for parents of young adults with disabilities.

Youth

  • Youth Interviews Youth able to answer for themselves will be interviewed by phone about their experiences or receive a questionnaire in the mail (2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009).
  • Assessments When students were 16 to 18 years old a one-time direct assessment was conducted to measure student progress in reading, math, science, and social studies. An interview was also conducted to learn about youth's self-concept and self-determination. Accommodations were provided to youth so that they could complete the assessment or an alternate assessment was completed by a person knowledgeable of the students' abilities.

Students' schools

For each student, NLTS2 has surveyed one or two teachers, who know the students well about student goals, services provided, classroom experiences, and performances. We also have collected information on the general characteristics of the secondary schools youth have attended. We will collect students' transcripts to learn about their course-taking and school progress until they have left secondary school.

Current Activities

We are now conducting the fourth round of telephone interviews with parents and youth. Please inform us of any changes in your home address or contact information. You also can update your contact information online.

We now have TTY capabilities. Our TTY number is 1-800-664-3875 (message only).