Going into the meeting, Mary Bryant thought money would be the biggest hurdle facing Nevada’s Think College project. But she was wrong. It turned out, the hurdles of money, time or involvement weren’t there at all.

Think College, based out of the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston, focuses on post-secondary education opportunities for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. ICI researches best practices, provides training and assistance and continues to publicize and promote its mission.

The strategic planning session Bryant walked into that day was funded by a grant ICI gave NCED to bring Think College’s inclusive involvement to Nevada.

The session was run by ICI’s Debra Hart and produced some interesting results. The state heads of vocational rehabilitation, school districts and regional service centers were represented.

The school districts agreed to continue the plan, even if grant money should fall through. Currently, students with disabilities are allowed to stay in high school until they are 22. Shifting those students into a community college or vocational program would not only provide valuable education and job skills, but would include them with other students their own age.

Next Monday, representatives of the Think College program will meet again to pick the model they want to base their program on. For example, some colleges (such as University of Iowa) run programs in student dormitories, while other models focus on community colleges.

For now, Nevada’s Think College will work on transitioning students with disabilities into community colleges in one or two areas as a test. The results will be presented and the model will roll out across the state.