81R8723 CAE-D
By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1125
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to transition and employment services for public school
students enrolled in special education programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 29.011, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.011. TRANSITION PLANNING. (a) The commissioner
shall by rule adopt procedures for compliance with federal
requirements relating to transition services for students who are
enrolled in special education programs under this subchapter. The
procedures must:
(1) provide that transition planning begins for a
student not later than when the student reaches 14 years of age; and
(2) specify the manner in which a student's admission,
review, and dismissal committee must consider, and if appropriate,
address the following issues in the student's individualized
education program:
(A) [(1)] appropriate student involvement in the
student's transition to life outside the public school system;
(B) [(2)] if the student is younger than 18 years
of age, appropriate parental involvement in the student's
transition;
(C) [(3)] if the student is at least 18 years of
age, appropriate parental involvement in the student's transition,
if the parent is invited to participate by the student or the school
district in which the student is enrolled;
(D) [(4)] any postsecondary education options;
(E) [(5)] a functional vocational evaluation;
(F) [(6)] employment goals and objectives;
(G) [(7)] if the student is at least 18 years of
age, the availability of age-appropriate instructional
environments;
(H) [(8)] independent living goals and
objectives; and
(I) [(9)] appropriate circumstances for
referring a student or the student's parents to a governmental
agency for services.
(b) The commissioner shall require each school district or
shared services arrangement to designate an employee as the school
transition and employment services specialist to serve as the
district's or shared services arrangement's expert on transition
and employment services for students enrolled in special education
programs under this subchapter. An individual designated under
this subsection must meet minimum requirements established by the
commissioner.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 29.0111 and 29.0112 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0111. TRANSITION INFORMATION. The agency shall
develop a Performance-Based Monitoring Analysis System indicator
regarding the success of students enrolled in special education
programs in transitioning to life outside the public school system,
including secondary transitions and post-school outcomes.
Sec. 29.0112. TRANSITION AND EMPLOYMENT MANUAL. (a) The
agency shall develop a comprehensive transition and employment
manual for students enrolled in special education programs and
their parents to assist in the transition to life outside the public
school system. The manual must contain information specific to
this state regarding:
(1) transition services;
(2) employment and supported employment services;
(3) social security programs;
(4) community and long-term services and support;
(5) postsecondary educational programs and services;
(6) information sharing with health and human services
agencies and providers;
(7) guardianship and alternatives to guardianship;
(8) self-advocacy, person-directed planning, and
self-determination; and
(9) contact information for all relevant state
agencies.
(b) The agency must update the transition and employment
manual at least once every two years.
(c) The agency shall post the transition and employment
manual on the agency's website in a manner that permits the manual
to be easily identified and accessed.
(d) A school district shall:
(1) maintain a copy of the transition and employment
manual at each campus in the district; and
(2) provide one copy of the transition and employment
manual to each student enrolled in a special education program and
the student's parent at the first meeting of the student's
admission, review, and dismissal committee at which transition is
discussed or the first meeting that occurs after September 1, 2009,
if a student has already had an admission, review, and dismissal
committee meeting discussing transition.
SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2009-2010
school year.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.