National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 Phase II

The National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 (NLTS 2012) is the third in a series of studies being conducted by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), with the goal of describing the characteristics, secondary school experiences, transition, and outcomes of youth who receive special education services under IDEA. Phase II of NLTS 2012 will utilize high school and post-high school administrative records data to collect information in three broad areas important to understanding outcomes for youth with disabilities: (1) high school course-taking and completion (2) post-secondary education and training, and (3) employment and earnings after high school. Phase II collected information will build on a survey of a nationally representative set of students with and without IEPs from Phase I of the study to address the following questions: • To what extent do youth with disabilities who receive special education services under IDEA make progress through high school compared with other youth, including those identified for services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act? For students with disabilities, has high school course taking and completion rates changed over the past few decades? • Are youth with disabilities achieving the post-high school outcomes envisioned by IDEA, and how do their college, training, and employment rates compare with those of other youth? • How do these high school and postsecondary experiences and outcomes vary by student characteristics, including their disability category, age, sex, race/ethnicity, English Learner status, income status, and type of high school attended (including regular public school, charter school, career/technical school, special education school, or other State or Federally-operated institution)? The NLTS 2012 sample includes 21,959 students ranging in age from 13 to 21 in December 2011. The sample was selected to include sufficient number of students in each of the 12 federally defined disability categories, and adequate number of students without disabilities, including both students with a Section 504 plan and students with neither an IEP nor a Section 504 plan. To meet the study’s objective, data will be collected from the following sources: (1) school district administrative records, including transcripts, from districts participating in NLTS 2012; (2) postsecondary enrollment information through the National Student Clearinghouse, (3) student financial aid data from ED's Federal Student Aid Office (FSA), (4) employment and earnings data from the Social Security Administration (SSA); and (5) information about vocational rehabilitative services and supports youth received from ED's Rehabilitative Services Administration (RSA). Data collection activities expected to result in public burden are the collection of administrative data from school districts and requests for consent from sample members and their parents.

The latest form for National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 Phase II expires 2022-05-31 and can be found here.