From IEP to Adulthood: Special Education and Special Needs Planning for New York Families

If you've ever left an IEP meeting with more questions than answers, you're not alone. Special education comes with its own language, timelines and paperwork. And for many parents, a bigger question sits quietly in the background: What happens when my child ages out of school?

In our recent webinar, Jacqueline Scali of the FACE Center (Family and Community Engagement Center) at Long Island University shared free resources to help families navigate special education. Her insights also highlight why planning for your child's future, including special needs planning in New York, should start long before graduation.

▶ Watch the full webinar here!

Parents and Students Belong at the Table

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) isn't something that happens to your child. It's a plan you help build. The FACE Center offers free tools to make that easier:

• IEP with Descriptions: Annotated school-age and preschool IEPs that explain every section in plain language.

• Parent Guide to Special Education (2025): A newly updated New York State Education Department guide covering referral, evaluation, eligibility and due process rights.

• Toolbox for Self-Determination and "All About Me": Resources that help students, even young children, share their strengths and goals in their own IEP meetings.

Encouraging your child to speak up in IEP meetings builds self-advocacy skills that matter well beyond school. It also prepares your family for one of the biggest transitions ahead.

Looking Ahead: Why Special Needs Planning Matters

The FACE Center and other agencies like it, typically serves students from birth through age 21. Once a student turns 22 and school-based services end, the IEP no longer defines their support. That's where special needs estate planning comes in, and the earlier families start, the more options they have.

Here are a few key planning tools for New York families:

• Supplemental Needs Trusts (SNTs): In New York, a properly drafted supplemental needs trust can hold money for a person with a disability without disqualifying them from means-tested benefits like SSI and Medicaid, which have strict asset limits. Leaving an inheritance directly to your child could unintentionally jeopardize those benefits.

• Guardianship and alternatives:  At 18, your child is legally an adult, and parents no longer automatically make medical, financial or educational decisions. Depending on your child's needs, options may include guardianship under Article 17-A of New York's Surrogate's Court Procedure Act, a power of attorney and health care proxy, or supported decision-making.

• ABLE accounts: Tax-advantaged savings accounts for people whose disability began before age 46 (expanded from age 26 in 2026), allowing them to save without affecting most benefits.

• Your own estate plan: A will that names a guardian and trustee, updated beneficiary designations and a letter of intent describing your child's routines, care and preferences all help protect your child if something happens to you.

Notice the connection to the IEP process: the same self-determination skills students build in school help families choose the least restrictive decision-making option as their child becomes an adult.

Free Support That Fits a Busy Schedule

Every FACE Center workshop and technical assistance service is free. Sign up for Tips and Topics Tuesdays, a weekly email with upcoming workshops, or drop into Community Café, its daytime and evening Zoom office hours. You can also browse the Community Resource Map, available in about 12 languages. Contact Jacqueline Scali at jacqueline.scali@liu.edu or the team at post-cci@liu.edu.

Watch the Full Webinar

This recap only scratches the surface. In the full recording, Jacqueline walks through each resource and answers parent questions in real time. Watch the complete webinar on YouTube and subscribe to our channel so you never miss a future session.

Protect Your Child's Future with a Special Needs Plan

Whether your child is in preschool or approaching 18, it's never too early to plan. The right estate plan can protect your child's benefits, secure their financial future and give you peace of mind.

At Sammartino & Sultan Law Group, our attorneys help New York families with special needs planning, trusts and estate planning so parents can feel confident about the road ahead.

Schedule a consultation: ss-lawgroup.com/schedule

Call: (631) 505-1086  

Email: info@ss-lawgroup.com

Learn more: Special Needs Planning

About the Author

Leslie has been practicing law since 2009 and is the host of the estate planning podcast 'Legacy Purse'. She has a long history of representing family members struggling to inherit property and/or wealth from deceased family members through the Probate Courts. Knowing how time-consuming and expensive the probate process is, Leslie takes great pride in helping her clients learn how to plan and protect their families during their lives so they can avoid the probate court process and save their loved ones that additional grief (and expense).