Lawrence Disability Partnership Surveys Families, Exposes Transition Planning Gaps

BOSTON — April 27, 2026 — A Lawrence disability employment partnership revealed that 97 percent of early-grade families are unaware of transition planning for students with disabilities. The Employment Subcommittee of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities heard Monday from the Lawrence Partnership for Transition to Employment, a five-year Administration for Community Living grant set to expire in September, which is a collaboration between the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston and the Arc of Greater Haverhill Newburyport. Presenters Allison Taylor, Andrea Morris, Steven Michelson, and Elizabeth Hoag described a family survey that grew from 12 responses to 205 after Lawrence Public Schools distributed it to families of the district's approximately 2,200 IEP students, more than 90 percent of whom are Hispanic or Latino. Among 205 respondents, 84 cited higher education as the top post-school priority and 40 cited employment, yet 88 percent of families with high-school-age students reported being unaware their children were already receiving pre-employment training. Subcommittee member Oz Mondaharin offered to connect presenters with Latino community contacts, noting that immigration anxiety may be suppressing engagement with any organization perceived as government-affiliated.