This page contains important information for educators involved in the annual Youth One Year Out (YOYO) former student interview.
Latest News & Updates
Dates have been announced for the 2026 YOYO Interviewer Trainings. See Resources for YOYO Interviewers below. All new YOYO interviewers are required to be trained.
2025 statewide YOYO results are now available. View our public post-school outcome data. Or – log in to your data collection & reporting account to view customized data if you’re a registered user.
February – Former Student Lists are Available for Review
March – Live Zoom YOYO Interviewer Trainings Begin
April 1 – YOYO Former Student Interview Opens
August 31 – YOYO Closes at 11:59 pm ET
The YOYO is a voluntary phone interview that students participate in one year after exiting high school. The YOYO is conducted with all students in Kentucky who exited high school in the previous school year, had an Individualized Education Program (IEP) in place at the time of exit, and exited by graduation with a regular diploma, alternative diploma, reached maximum age, or dropped out. During the interview, former students can describe their experiences since leaving high school and learn about available resources. When necessary, information may be gathered from a parent, guardian, or caregiver on behalf of the student. Former students’ participation in the YOYO is voluntary and confidential.
YOYO Flyer for Educators (PDF)
The U.S. Department of Education mandates post-school outcome data collection for Indicator 14 under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which Kentucky’s Department of Education (KDE) then supports through its contractor, the Kentucky Post School Outcome Center (KYPSO). The KYPSO oversees data collection through the Youth One Year Out (YOYO) interview process and analyzes the data, ensuring compliance with the federal mandate to improve transition services for students with disabilities in Kentucky.
2026 YOYO Interviewer Training
All new YOYO interviewers are required to be trained. Please attend one of the training dates below. If you are a returning interviewer, feel free to attend the returning interviewer training for a refresher. No registration is required. Zoom link coming soon.
New Interviewers
Monday, March 2nd, 3:00 – 4:30 pm ET
Tuesday, March 3rd, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm ET
Returning Interviewers
Tuesday, March 10th, 3:30 – 4:30 pm ET
Thursday, March 12th, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm ET
Other Resources
Supplemental YOYO Resource Manual (PDF) – a list of available resources in Kentucky for people with disabilities (employment, medical, housing, etc.)
Print Version of 2026 YOYO (PDF) – Coming Soon! Printable version of the YOYO interview (not for data input). Previous years.
Kentucky Disability Resource Guide – a handbook of program descriptions, eligibility criteria, and contact information
YOYO Best Practices (YouTube) – Dr. LoBianco interviews Fayette County to discuss their 98% response rate for the 2021 YOYO
Indicator 14 Contacting Hard-to-Find Youth – Indicator 14 post-school outcomes data collection and analysis resources from the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition, specifically Contacting Hard-to-Find Youth.
Special Education Regional Technical Assistance Centers (SERTACs) – a network of nine regional centers that provide specialized support to school districts across the state.
How to Register for a KYPSO Account – how to register for a KYPSO account (1 minute)
KYPSO’s online data collection and reporting platform is where YOYO interviews are conducted and where district reports are stored. Registration is required to conduct interviews and view reports. DoSEs can email KYPSO at information@kypso.org.
Introduction to New YOYO Reporting System – introduces the new YOYO reporting dashboard, explaining how to navigate Indicator 14 data, track interview progress during reporting season, and monitor district- and state-level outcomes (2 minutes)
Introduction to Indicator 14 – provides a simple explanation of Indicator 14A, 14B, and 14C, outlining how each category builds on the previous one to capture students’ post‑school outcomes in higher education, competitive employment, other education, and other employment (2 minutes)
Specific Disability Data – how to disaggregate outcomes data by disability type, demonstrating how to examine indicators like higher education, competitive employment, and other post‑school outcomes for specific groups to identify patterns and areas needing support (3 minutes)
Crosstab Deep Dive – how to interpret crosstab data to understand how students’ higher‑education and employment outcomes intersect (3 minutes)
Disaggregating a Crosstab – how to disaggregate a crosstab by factors like disability type, gender, exit status, and year to compare outcomes across student groups and understand how Indicator 14 categories build on one another (9 minutes)
Understanding Post-Secondary Education Data – how to interpret post‑secondary education data by examining which programs students enter, how often they contact disability services, and why self‑identifying for accommodations is important for their success (3 minutes)
Community & Participation – explores community participation data by examining former students’ living situations, independent living indicators, driver’s license status, and voter registration as key measures of adulthood beyond Indicator 14 (3 minutes)
Data Quality – how to interpret data quality by examining response rates, reliability, and sample representativeness, highlighting how small districts can be skewed by outliers, and why comparing local data to regional and state patterns is important (3 minutes)
Different Levels of Access – how user access levels determine which SERTACs and districts can be viewed in the reporting system, with DoSEs limited to their district, state-level users able to select any SERTAC, and SERTAC‑level staff able to view any district within their region (1 minute)
View YOYO Interview Status – how to view the status of your individual YOYO interviews that are currently being conducted (2 minutes).
Managing Your List of Students – how to view a list of your former students to be interviewed (4 minutes).
Managing Users as a DoSE – how to manage your YOYO interviewers, including viewing their role, if they’ve taken the interviewer quiz, and when they were last active in the system (4 minutes).
Each year, when former student lists are populated in the Data Collection & Reporting site (and before the YOYO begins), please review to ensure the information is correct. Did the former student have an IEP in place at the time of exit? Did they exit during the previous school year?
If you need to remove a former student from your district, submit a request through our Secure Student Information Portal.
If you need to add a former student, please complete and upload the Add Students Spreadsheet to our Secure Student Information Portal.
Please always convey personally identifiable information through our Secure Student Information Portal and never by email.
The Student Information Portal can also be accessed within your Data Collection & Reporting account.
Collect Student Contact Info
Before students exit high school, ensure you have contact information on file with multiple ways to reach them. Districts that consistently have high contact rates make a strong effort to collect up-to-date contact information on students before they exit school. It’s recommended that a student’s Case Manager or ARC Chairperson collect student contact information during the year-end, summary of performance conference, or the last IEP meeting. Many districts have had success implementing a Google Form to collect information before the YOYO, allowing students or parents to provide up-to-date contact information and indicate the best time to call. Please feel free to use this sample contact form we’ve created. This form is ideal for printing and storing in a secure location. Student Contact Information Form for the YOYO
Let Students Know You’ll be Calling
At least two to four weeks before conducting your YOYO interviews, send a reminder to former students. You could also use that as an opportunity to ensure you have the correct phone number and schedule a time to reach them. We’ve created some resources for you below. Please feel free to make them your own!
Former student letter – a letter to mail or email former students in preparation for the YOYO.
Former student YOYO postcard (PNG) or former student YOYO postcard (PPTX) – this digital postcard can be customized, saved as a picture, and attached to an email.
Our Students and Families page includes information about the YOYO interview, what to expect from the interview questions, how the data is shared, and multiple resources.
We have also provided a YOYO flyer for students and families. This flyer can be printed as-is or downloaded and emailed.
YOYO Flyer for Students and Families – (PDF)