An Intersectional Examination of Economic Hardship and Individualized Education Program Meeting Participation

Abstract

In this preregistered study, we confirmed a transition-planning construct and determined its relationship with an established economic-hardship construct using parent- and youth-reported data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 and following established quality indicators of preregistered secondary data analyses studies. Transition planning was made up of seven items relevant to individualized education program (IEP) meeting participation. We examined measurement invariance on the basis of disability category and race/ethnicity as well as the intersection of these student characteristics in order to make unbiased group comparisons on key latent parameters. Contrary to our hypotheses, there was no meaningful correlation between transition planning and economic hardship. Moreover, we were unable to establish measurement invariance of transition planning because the item “youth's role in IEP meeting” functioned differently on the basis of disability category. Implications for practice are discussed regarding how decisions about IEP meeting participation are made, by whom and why, and whether evidence-based practices are effectively disseminated. Future research should ensure adequate sampling plans for national survey attempts in order to conduct an in-depth examination based on intersectional student characteristics.