Michael Smith addressing the opening session of the S.T.A.R.S. conference. Mr. Smith is a Self-Advocate and a member of the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, one of the conference sponsors.

On February 7, 2009, the 5th Annual S.T.A.R.S. Conference (Start Transition and Realize Success) was held in Palm Beach County at the John I Leonard High School in Greenacres . Sponsors included the Florida Developmental Disabiities Council, the United Way of Palm Beach in conjunction with the Palm Beach County School District, the Mary and Harold Perper Foundation, the National City Back, the Office Depot Foundation, the Family Care Council, Eppy Financial Services, the PGA National, Panera Bread and Starbucks.

The one-day conference provided free education and information workshops on self-determination, Individual Education Plans, school-based services, and community-based programs for over 300 students with disabilities and family members.

Today in Palm Beach County, there are over 23,000 students with disabilities in the public school system, and every year, thousands of these youth drop out or leave school without a blueprint for building a productive life beyond high school. Although federal programs require all youth with disabilities to develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to prepare for the school-to-community “transition” while they are still in school, many students and their parents are unaware of their right or choices when it comes to transition planning.

Often, parents do not know how to participate in IEP meetings, or how to advocate for their child’s needs. Many families also have little or no information about the opportunities available for youth with disabilities to increase their options for productive employment and independent living.

The goal of the S.T.A.R.S. Conference was to educate, support and encourage students with disabilities and their families to utilize self-determination and Individual Education Plans to acquire, through school services, the skills needed to transition to community life and to achieve post-high school goals.

The student’s desire to attend school, remain in school and succeed in school increases because they understand that they are learning the skills they need to reach their goals. The workshops offered at the S.T.A.R.S. Conference 2009 provided information and training to teach participants the following steps to achieving a student’s goals for housing, transportation, employment, education, meaningful daytime activity, social recreation and all aspects of an individual’s life:

1. Students learned to use self-determination to think about their life beyond high school and what they want for themselves.
2. Parents and other family members learned to use the dreams of the students to help the student create goals.
3. Students and their parents learned about their rights in regards to the students’ Individual Education Plans (IEP).
4. Students and their families and members of their support systems learned how to utilize the IEP as a tool to plan for life beyond high school, and how to use the services provided by the school district while they are still in school to gain the skills and abilities they will need to achieve their personal goals for education, vocational training, supported employment or community living after leaving school.