New N.S. program helps Grade 12 students with disabilities transition to adulthood

Grade 12 students with disabilities will soon have extra support for transitioning from high school to community, through the new School Leavers Program. (Source: Province of Nova Scotia/File)

A new program is launching in Nova Scotia this fall to support Grade 12 students with disabilities.

The School Leaver Program will help prepare 100 students with disabilities as they transition into early adulthood. The program will expand to 200 students in 2026-27.

“Leaving school is an important time for young people and their families – a time of big change and big decisions,” said Scott Armstrong, minister of Opportunities and Social Development. “This new program will help students with disabilities explore more opportunities, make more choices and connect to the resources and supports they need to be successful young adults, while addressing a long-standing gap in our disability support system.”

The program is part of the government’s work to transform disability support in the province under the Nova Scotia Human Rights Remedy.

“There is nothing more important than the success and well-being of Nova Scotia’s young people,” Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Brendan Maguire said. “The School Leavers Program is helping us ensure students – no matter their individual needs – get the appropriate wraparound supports to build bright, promising futures as independent adults.”

Students identified by the Department of Early Childhood Development for the program have an intellectual developmental disability and/or one or more significant disability, are currently supported in school by a multi-disciplinary team and have a formal plan with individualized learning outcomes.

For the 2025-26 school year, 10 spots have been designated for students who self-identify as Indigenous or Mi’kmaw and 10 spots for those who self-identify as African Nova Scotian or Black students.

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