2017S0118-1 01/27/17
By: Allen H.B. No. 4027
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to transition planning for a public school student
enrolled in a special education program.
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 specify the manner in which a student's admission,
review, and dismissal committee must consider[,] and appropriately
[if appropriate,] address the following issues in the student's
individualized education program:
(1) appropriate student involvement in the student's
transition to life outside the public school system;
(2) if the student is younger than 18 years of age,
appropriate [parental] involvement in the student's transition by
the student's parents and other persons invited to participate by:
(A) the student's parents; or
(B) the school district in which the student is
enrolled;
(3) if the student is at least 18 years of age,
appropriate [parental] involvement in the student's transition and
future by the student's parents and other persons, if the parent or
other person:
(A) is invited to participate by the student or
the school district in which the student is enrolled; or
(B) has the student's consent to participate
pursuant to a supported decision-making agreement under Chapter
1357, Estates Code, or a similar agreement;
(4) appropriate [any] postsecondary education
options, including preparation for postsecondary-level coursework;
(5) an appropriate [a] functional vocational
evaluation;
(6) appropriate employment goals and objectives;
(7) if the student is at least 18 years of age, the
availability of age-appropriate instructional environments,
including community settings or environments that prepare the
student for postsecondary education or training, competitive
integrated employment, or independent living in coordination with
the student's transition goals and objectives;
(8) appropriate independent living goals and
objectives; [and]
(9) appropriate circumstances for facilitating the
referral of [referring] a student or the student's parents to a
governmental agency for services and public benefits, including
facilitating the referral of the student or the student's parents
to a governmental agency to place the student on a waiting list for
public benefits available to the student, such as a waiver program
established under Section 1915(c), Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
Section 1396n(c)); and
(10) the use and availability of:
(A) appropriate supplementary aids, services,
curriculum, and other opportunities to assist the student in
developing decision-making skills; and
(B) appropriate supports and services to foster
the student's independence and self-determination, including a
supported decision-making agreement under Chapter 1357, Estates
Code.
(a-1) A student's admission, review, and dismissal
committee shall annually review the issues described by Subsection
(a) and, if necessary, update the portions of the student's
individualized education program that address those issues.
(a-2) The commissioner shall maintain on the agency's
Internet website a list of the services and public benefits
described by Subsection (a)(9).
(b) The commissioner shall require each school district or
shared services arrangement to designate at least one employee to
serve as the district's or shared services arrangement's designee
on transition and employment services for students enrolled in
special education programs under this subchapter. The commissioner
shall develop minimum training guidelines for a district's or
shared services arrangement's designee. An individual designated
under this subsection must provide information and resources about
effective transition planning and services, including each issue
described by Subsection (a), and interagency coordination to ensure
that local school staff communicate and collaborate with:
(1) students enrolled in special education programs
under this subchapter and the parents of those students; and
(2) as appropriate, local and regional staff of the:
(A) Health and Human Services Commission;
(B) Texas Workforce Commission [Department of
Aging and Disability Services];
(C) [Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative
Services;
[(D)] Department of State Health Services; and
(D) [(E)] Department of Family and Protective
Services.
(b-1) At least every four years, the commissioner shall
review and, if necessary, update the minimum training guidelines
described by Subsection (b). In reviewing the guidelines, the
commissioner shall solicit input from interested stakeholders.
SECTION 2. Sections 29.0112(b) and (e), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) The transition and employment guide must be written in
plain language and 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,
including information regarding placing the student on a waiting
list for public benefits available to the student from a
governmental agency, such as a waiver program established under
Section 1915(c), Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1396n(c));
(5) postsecondary educational programs and services,
including the inventory maintained by the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board under Section 61.0663;
(6) information sharing with health and human services
agencies and providers;
(7) guardianship and alternatives to guardianship,
including a supported decision-making agreement under Chapter
1357, Estates Code;
(8) self-advocacy, person-directed planning, and
self-determination; and
(9) contact information for all relevant state
agencies.
(e) A school district shall:
(1) post the transition and employment guide on the
district's website if the district maintains a website; [and]
(2) provide written information and, if necessary,
assistance to a student or parent regarding how to access the
electronic version of the guide at:
(A) the first meeting of the student's admission,
review, and dismissal committee at which transition is discussed;
and [or]
(B) the first committee meeting at which
transition is discussed that occurs after the date on which the
guide is updated; and
(3) on request, provide a printed copy of the guide to
a student or parent [becomes available, if a student has already had
an admission, review, and dismissal committee meeting discussing
transition].
SECTION 3. Section 29.017, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsections (c-1),
(c-2), (e), (f), and (g) to read as follows:
(c) Not later than one year before the 18th birthday of a
student with a disability, the school district at which the student
is enrolled shall:
(1) provide to the student and the student's parents:
(A) written notice regarding the transfer of
rights under this section; and
(B) information and resources regarding
guardianship, alternatives to guardianship, including a supported
decision-making agreement under Chapter 1357, Estates Code, and
other supports and services that may enable the student to live
independently; and
(2) ensure that the student's individualized education
program includes a statement that the district provided the notice,
information, and resources required under Subdivision (1).
(c-1) In accordance with 34 C.F.R. Section 300.520
[300.517], the school district shall provide written notice to
[notify] the student and the student's parents of the transfer of
rights under this section. The notice must include the information
and resources described by Subsection (c)(1)(B).
(c-2) If a student with a disability or the student's parent
requests information regarding guardianship or alternatives to
guardianship from the school district at which the student is
enrolled, the school district shall provide to the student or
parent information and resources on supported decision-making
agreements under Chapter 1357, Estates Code.
(d) Nothing in this section prohibits a student from
entering into a supported decision-making agreement under Chapter
1357, Estates Code, after the transfer of rights under this
section.
(e) The commissioner shall develop a model form for use by
school districts in notifying students and parents under
Subsections (c) and (c-1). The commissioner shall post the form on
the agency's Internet website.
(f) The commissioner shall develop and update as necessary
the information and resources described by Subsections (c), (c-1),
and (c-2). The commissioner shall post the information and
resources on the agency's Internet website.
(g) The commissioner shall adopt rules implementing the
provisions of 34 C.F.R. Section 300.520(b) [300.517(b)].
SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2017-2018
school year.
SECTION 5. 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, 2017.