How we research and review our guides
Planning advice should come with its sources and a date. Here is how ours is made.
Where the information comes from
Guides lean on primary sources: the federal special education rules in 34 CFR Part 300, the Rehabilitation Act and its regulations for vocational rehabilitation, the Social Security Administration's own pages, the U.S. Department of Education, and pages from state agencies and colleges. Every guide ends with the sources we opened for it, and the sources page collects them. We cite a page only after reading it.
How a guide is written
- We start from a question a family or coordinator actually has: when does this start, what does this word mean, who do we call.
- We read the top search results for that question to see what is well covered and what is thin or contradictory.
- We read the rule or agency page itself and write from it, separating what the rule requires from what teams commonly do.
- We flag anything that depends on the state, the agency, or the student, and say where to look it up instead of guessing.
- Examples are invented, labeled as illustrations, and never describe a real student.
How often guides are re-checked
Each guide is re-read against its sources at least every six months, and sooner when we learn that a rule or a linked page has changed. The date near the top of each guide is the date of the last review.
What we will not do
- We do not give legal, financial, benefits, or educational advice, and we do not interpret your child's IEP.
- We do not publish benefit amounts, income limits, or eligibility cutoffs. Those change, and the agency page is the place to read them.
- We do not run ads, take payment for placement, or sell anything on this site.
- We do not want student information. Please never send us documents or details that identify a student.
Who writes the guides
Guides are written by our editorial desk. You can read about the writer on the author page. The writer is not an attorney, benefits counselor, or transition specialist, which is why every guide points back to official sources and to your own team.
Corrections
If something is wrong, out of date, or unclear, write to contact@afterhighschoolroadmap.com and name the guide and the sentence. We correct errors on the page and update the review date.
After High School Roadmap is independent and is not affiliated with any school district, state agency, college, program, or advocacy organization.