Horton, Ashley2018-03-142018-03-142017-12https://hdl.handle.net/11299/194654University of Minnesota M.A. thesis. December 2017. Major: Educational Policy and Administration. Advisor: Peter Demerath. 1 computer file (PDF); iv, 71 pages.People with disabilities, across all age groups, are much less likely to be employed than those without a disability (Bureau of Statistics, 2017; Mourssi-Asfash, 2013; Erickson, Lee, & von Schrader, 2016). Historically, people with disabilities have been regarded as lesser human beings in the medical and social community. These views are social constructs (ableism and othering) that negatively impact the access to employment and job retention of people with disabilities. However, transition programs (for students with disabilities aged 18–21) in school districts are available to teach individuals with disabilities employment skills to expand employment rates and retention, thus increasing independence and contribution to self and society. One particular transition program has been successful for individuals with disabilities to become employed. This study aims to explore and understand how the program is successfully training individuals with disabilities to improve access to and retention of employment, as well as the drawbacks and next steps of the program. The participants in this case study were parents/guardians of individuals with disabilities who recently graduated from this transition program (in the past 2 years). Parents/guardians were interviewed about their personal experiences with the transition program, focusing in particular on employment training. The findings include: (a) teacher care, advocacy, and emphasizing success; (b) program positives, specifically the employment variety and the skills learned at those jobs and recommendation of the program to upcoming students and parents/guardians based on their employment experiences, support and advocacy from teachers, and genuine care from the teachers and staff from the program; and (c) areas of improvement including more variety and quantity of employment opportunities and communication about information regarding government resources and programming. Recommended improvement strategies for the program include: (a) develop peer support groups for parents/guardians and students; (b) have key people in the program to having a list of resources available to parents from the government agencies; (c) train students and parents/guardians to be better advocates; (d) have tangible copies of frequently asked questions and answers from parents, guardians, and students readily available at IEP meetings; (e) have a vocational rehabilitation service representative at every IEP meeting and, if this is not possible, have information that the representative would like to provide based on the individual's’ needs; (f) create a website with transitional guidelines to adulthood that parents/guardians and students could complete during their time with the transition program; (g) have a representative from the transition program working within the community and surrounding communities to build relationships for future job placements; (h) educate companies and employers about the benefits of hiring individuals with disabilities; and (i) continue the philosophy and culture of care, advocacy, and support for students and parents/guardians through the hiring process and a culture/climate committee. Keywords: transition, transition programs, special education, education, ableism, othering, employment, discrimination, disability, special education law, disability lawendisabilityeducationemploymentspecial educationtransitionThesis or Dissertation