What is transition in Early Intervention?

Transition is the planned move out of Early Intervention, most often toward preschool special education as the child approaches age three. It is a required part of the Individualized Family Service Plan.

Early Intervention ends at age three. Transition planning starts while the child is still in the program, commonly when the child is two years and six months old. The Ongoing Service Coordinator convenes the conversation, explains the options, and records the family's choices on the plan.

Not every child moves to the Committee on Preschool Special Education. A family may decline a referral, or the child may leave because outcomes were met or the family moved. Each of those endings is a discharge with a reason. Transition is the planned path, not a synonym for every exit.

County practice varies inside New York. The variation belongs on the New York page as inline facts, not as a separate route per county. A deep page is earned only when a real program difference needs its own home.