Definition: Percentage of students with disabilities exiting school who were found during the fall/winter following the school year to be enrolled in higher education, some other post-secondary education or training program, competitively employed, or employed in some other way.

Source: Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services, LEA Profile

2025 Target: 66%

Below is a comparison of the value for this indicator among seven coastal counties: Charlotte, Sarasota, Collier, Lee, Manatee, Hillsborough, and Pinellas. These counties have been recommended as comparable counties by Sarasota County Government.

Students with Developmental Disabilities: Employment or Education (2013-2014)

In the course of the 2013-2014 school year, 60% of county students with developmental disabilities who exited school were found to have enrolled in some form of post-secondary education program, were competitively employed, or employed in some other way. This is a 33% improvement from the 2010-2011 school year. Seventeen counties in the State of Florida had higher continuing education or employment rates for developmentally disabled students than did Sarasota County. The Sarasota County figure is 4% higher than the state's average of 56%.

According to the Arc, an organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, “the majority of adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities are unemployed or under employed, despite ability, desire and willingness to work”. Challenges to obtaining post-secondary employment include: discrimination, limitation of jobs to building and grounds maintenance, retail, and food prep and service, and gaps in pay. According to subject matter experts, Sarasota County has a large population of adults with developmental disabilities because their older parents come to Florida for their retirement. As a result of this, and lack of funding, there are approximately as many people currently on the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) wait-list as there are currently receiving services from the APD in Sarasota County.

A local study published by Goodwill Manasota, called State of Employment, interviewed 9 local organizations that employ persons with disabilities. According to these interviews, the most common challenge that participating employers face in recruiting persons with physical or mental disabilities is having job openings that match the skills and abilities of disabled persons. The most common successful recruitment strategy among organizations that hire disabled persons is creating agency partnerships between employers and organizations that serve that population (e.g. CareerSource Suncoast). Post-secondary education, volunteerism, and adequate job training increases the likelihood that a person with developmental disabilities will be recruited and retained as an employee.