Free Transition Planning Tools for
High School SPED Teachers
Transition planning is a huge part of special education, helping your students prepare for life after high school. But finding quality resources can be expensive and time-consuming.
The good news? There are plenty of free tools available to support you and your students! Whether you’re looking for career exploration tools, job readiness activities, or independent living exercises, this list has you covered!
Throughout all my years of teaching in a transition classroom, I’ve tested many resources to find what actually works. I know how important it is to have ready-to-use, engaging, and accessible materials for students and teachers alike.
That’s why I’ve put together this handpicked list of my favorite free transition planning tools—ones I’ve used myself and highly recommend!
Planning & Organizing
Before your students can explore jobs and independent living, they need a solid transition plan that keeps them, their families, and their teachers on the same page.
These resources help with goal-setting, tracking progress, and organizing transition-related activities.
- Transition Planning Timeline & Checklist – This editable checklist breaks down transition planning into manageable steps, guiding families through the transition process. Each section is color-coded by age!
- Transition Portfolio Outline – Support your students through the transition process using this 5-page portfolio template! It helps students document their skills, interests, goals, and accomplishments.
- High School SPED Google Drive Organization & Schedule – Stay organized with printable and digital schedule templates plus Google Drive folder organizers!
- First 3 Weeks of School Outline – A structured plan that includes lesson ideas, activities, and strategies to start the school year in a transition-focused classroom.
- 6-Week Outline for ESY & Summer – Use this detailed schedule to help students build job and life skills during extended school year (ESY) programs.
- Service Coordination Checklist – This checklist ensures that students and families stay organized when managing multiple services and transition supports.
Transition Information Form – Collect key details about your students’ transition needs, goals, and support systems using this free printable form.
Career & Exploration
Helping your students find the right career path is an important part of transition planning.
Below, you’ll find resources and websites that can help them identify their career-related interests while learning about different job opportunities.
- Career Cluster Video & Worksheet Series – This is an animated series of videos on the 17 Career Clusters made for students learning vocational skills. Pair along with the bundle of 17 free companion worksheets (*click on each file within the bundle to download each one for free)!
- My Next Move Interest Profiler – This interactive career exploration tool helps students find out what their interests are and how they relate to the world of work.
- Job Exploration & Career Cluster Worksheets – Printable worksheets designed to help students explore different career clusters, identify job requirements, and develop skills for entry-level and professional jobs.
- Career Cruiser Workbook – This free career exploration workbook includes self-assessments, goal setting, and job readiness activities for middle and high school students.
- Career Clueless Resource – Use this fun and easy decoder activity to help your students find their career path based on their interests.
- Work Values Matcher Toolkit – This tool by Career One Stop is a free online assessment that helps students identify careers that align with their personal values, such as independence, teamwork, or creativity.
- Skills Matcher Toolkit – Another tool created by Career One Stop, but this time focuses on career matching based on the students’ skills.
- Holland Code Career Quiz – Help your students identify job opportunities that match their interests. This free online assessment tool is based on the six Holland personality types.
- Princeton Review Career Quiz – Make career exploration more fun by using this online tool! It features 24 “Would you rather” questions to assess students’ interests and work styles, matching them with potential career paths.
- Career Cluster Video Lesson Bundle – This resource isn’t technically free, but for its price, it might as well be! It includes engaging video-based lessons that introduce high school special education students to entry-level jobs within different career clusters.
Job Skills Activities
Once your students know what careers interest them, it’s also important to help them build the skills they’ll need to get and keep a job.
From filling out applications to proper workplace behavior, these free resources will help your students practice real-world job skills!
- Filling Out Forms & Job Applications – Teach your students how to fill out forms and applications with their personal information using this Google Slides freebie.
- Signing Initials Task Cards – These leveled task cards give students hands-on practice in signing their names and initials.
- Dress Codes Activity – Help your vocational and special education students understand workplace dress codes through this simple, interactive activity.
- Job Interview Outfits Boom Cards – This free Boom Cards activity has 24 questions that will help your students dress for interviews.
Salary & Benefits Would You Rather Game – Play this digital game to help your students compare job offers and build decision-making and job readiness skills!
Independent Living
Many students with disabilities need clear, step-by-step teaching to learn about money and daily life skills.
These resources cover important topics like budgeting, banking, healthcare, and functional life skills.
- Doctor Visit Planner – A free tool that helps students prepare for medical appointments by organizing questions, symptoms, and important health information in advance.
- Managing Medications Resources – Guide your students in tracking, organizing, and taking medications safely and independently using this free tool from Healthy Transitions NY.
- Community-Based Instruction (CBI) Safety Visuals – This no-prep community safety visual set is perfect for setting up a CBI wall in your classroom. It will teach your transition students how to stay safe when they travel.
- Community-Based Life & Job Skills Animated Videos – Teach community-based job skills, social-emotional, and life skills through engaging animated videos.
- Money Math & Financial Literacy Scope & Sequence – This financial literacy index will help you teach your students important financial literacy skills in the right sequence, teaching the prerequisite skills needed for adding money, paying with cash, and making change.
Student-Led IEP
When students take an active role in their Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, they learn to speak up for themselves, set goals, and make decisions about their future.
Help them participate in their IEP meetings using these resources!
- What Is an IEP? Social Narrative – Help your students understand their IEP goals! This simple social narrative breaks it down in a way that’s easy for students to understand.
- Student Involvement in the IEP Modules – You can find free, interactive lessons that teach students how to actively participate in their IEP meetings and take ownership of their transition goals.
- Student Rubric for IEP Participation – This digital and printable template is a free self-assessment tool that helps students evaluate their involvement in their IEP meetings. It also identifies ways to take a more active role in their education planning.
- Goal Plan Tool – Use this simple tool to help your students set and attain goals.
- Exit Survey for Teachers – This free reflection tool helps teachers assess student growth in self-determination skills and identify areas that need further support.
- Exit Survey for Students – Give this exit survey to your students after an IEP meeting to help them reflect on how it felt to be involved in their IEP meeting and plan for what to do differently next time.
Exit Survey for Parents – You can also help families reflect on their child’s self-determination growth and identify where additional support may be needed.
Transition Planning Assessments
Assessments are a great way to identify a student’s strengths, challenges, and interests.
These free tools help evaluate a student’s readiness for independent living and provide career exploration guidance.
- Transition Skills Checklist – This free checklist helps teachers, students, and families assess essential transition skills in areas like daily living, employment, self-determination, and community participation.
- Independent Living Assessment Form – Determine if your students are ready for independent living using this simple printable assessment form.
- Adolescent Autonomy Checklist – Similar to the previous tool, this one is designed to evaluate daily living, self-care, and independence skills of an adolescent transition student.
- Study Skills Inventory – Help your students evaluate their study habits, time management, note-taking, and test preparation skills.
- Self-Determination Checklist – A great tool that evaluates a student’s self-determination skills, including decision-making, goal-setting, and self-advocacy.
- Community-Based Functional Skills Assessment – This free assessment evaluates a student’s ability to navigate community settings, including transportation, shopping, safety, and social interactions.
- College Readiness Assessment – A self-assessment tool that helps students see if they are prepared for college.
- Comprehensive High School Transition Survey – This student-focused survey has a little bit of everything. It helps assess interests, strengths, job experiences, academic skills, and functional skills.
- Learning Style Test – Use this free online quiz to identify your students’ preferred learning style—visual, auditory, or kinesthetic.
Free Resource Bundles
Finding quality transition planning tools can take a lot of time, but these websites and bundles make it easy!
Each one includes multiple tools, guides, and activities to help students with career planning, independent living, and self-advocacy—all in one place.
- CCTST Folio – A free career and transition planning website with interactive tools for students, teachers, and families. It includes lesson guides, PowerPoint presentations, and worksheets.
- Healthy Transitions NY – This is a collection of videos, lessons, and guides on financial planning, independent living, and healthcare for young adults with disabilities.
- FDIC Money Smart – Check out this free financial education program that teaches students how to manage money, open a bank account, use credit wisely, and avoid scams.
- My Money (Florida CFO) – This financial literacy site is designed for students with disabilities. It covers banking, budgeting, saving, and making smart financial decisions.
How to Use These Free Transition Planning Resources
No matter where your students are in their transition journey, these free resources will help them build the skills they need for a successful future.
These tools can be used in:
- IEP meetings
- Life skills and vocational classes
- Workshops for students and families
- Self-paced learning
Bookmark this blogpost and start using these resources today!
