Do You Know What CAPE Is All About on Your Child’s Transition IEP?

For kids in Florida, age 12 and up, who are in public school and have an IEP, the IEP is referred to as a “Transition IEP.” That’s because its intent is to begin to thoughtfully consider where a student will transition to once they are done with K-12 education.

Something that MANY parents, and sometimes even ESE staff, aren’t very knowledgeable about, is CAPE Certification. CAPE stands for Career and Professional Education, and it usually appears on the 3^rd or 4^th page of most IEPs for a transition aged student (ages 12 +). Each high school (mostly, but there’s some certifications at the middle school level as well) has CAPE certification programs. Review your high school’s website to see what the CAPE program is on that campus… if you are interested. Please note that these certifications are for students who are on regular standards, and not for students who are on Access Points (special ed classes). Perhaps one day, we’ll have certifications for kids off standards, but for now, we do not.

Examples of some of the certification programs are:

• Child Development Associate (to work with preschoolers)
• Auto Mechanics
• Certified Fundamentals Cook (Culinary)
• Adobe Certification
• Drafting
• Multimedia Design
• Building/Construction
• Veterinary Medicine

These can be very challenging programs, but students with disabilities should be given this information the same as any other student. What you don’t want to do is wait until 11^th or 12^th grade to talk to your school about what they have to offer. By then, it’s often too late.

This is quoted directly from the Florida Dept of Education website and offers a bit of detail about CAPE. Also, be sure to check out the links:

The Florida Career and Professional Education Act was created to provide a statewide planning partnership between business and education communities, to expand and retain high-value industry, and sustain a vibrant state economy.

• The 2022-23 CAPE Industry Certification Funding List is a list of certifications and certificates with secondary and postsecondary funding designations. ​
  • In the past the department has maintained two separate lists for secondary and postsecondary.​ 
  • Changes to section (s.) 1008.44, Florida Statutes (F.S.) from House Bill 1507 require a single list and a single rule for CAPE beginning in the 2022-23 school year.  
• 2022-23 CAPE Industry Certification Funding list (Excel)
• 2022-23 CAPE Industry Certification Funding list (PDF)
• To be considered for the CAPE list the certification must be on the Master Credentials List (MCL). The MCL has been approved for 2022-23 by the Credential Review Committee (CRC) and can be found on the Career Source Florida website https://careersourceflorida.com/boardroom/florida-credentials-review-committee/master-credentials-list/.
  • The Credentials Review Committee is continuing work on the framework of quality to be used for the Master Credentials list process.
    • Once this work is complete, all current certifications will be reviewed using the new framework of quality and a new request submission process will be available. 
  • Check the Career Source Florida website for meeting schedules and updates to their process: https://careersourceflorida.com/boardroom/florida-credentials-review-committee/

Ask your school for the list of CAPE programs that they have to offer. If something there catches your eye, ask for more information. If your ESE contact doesn’t have information about it, request to speak to the school’s guidance counselor.

Please note… this is NOT an ESE service. It is something that’s an option for all students.