§ 16-24-18 - Transition from school to self-sufficient adulthood for students with disabilities.
SECTION 16-24-18
§ 16-24-18 Transition from school toself-sufficient adulthood for students with disabilities. – (a) There is established within the department of elementary and secondaryeducation an interagency transition council (the "transition council") composedof:
(1) The administrators or their designees of the following:
(i) Department of human services – office ofrehabilitation services;
(ii) Department of mental health, retardation and hospitals– division of developmental disabilities;
(iii) Department of mental health, retardation, and hospitals– division of mental health;
(iv) Department of children, youth, and families –mental health services;
(v) Department of elementary and secondary education –special education office;
(vi) Department of elementary and secondary education –vocational and technical education;
(vii) Department of labor and training – human resourceinvestment council;
(viii) Department of health – division of family health;and
(2) Commissioner of higher education or his or her designee;and
(3) Two (2) young persons with disabilities, two (2) parentsof young persons with disabilities, and two (2) representatives of local schooldistricts and one transition coordinator from one of the regional educationalcollaboratives, appointed by the governor.
(b) The goal of the transition council is to ensure thepreparedness of students with disabilities, upon leaving school, to live andwork in the community.
(c) The transition council shall draft and propose periodicrevisions to the cooperative agreement among the state departments and officesfor the provisions of services in the transition of young persons withdisabilities from school to self-sufficient adult life. The directors of thestate departments and agencies shall sign the cooperative agreement and anyrevisions, prior to their implementation. The transition council shall overseethe implementation of the cooperative agreement. The council shall issueguidelines or instructions and recommend to the state departments and agenciesappropriate directives necessary to effectuate the implementation of thecooperative agreement. The transition council shall develop joint plans forstate departments and agencies and local school districts for providingtransition services to assist young persons with disabilities. The transitioncouncil shall, after hearing from the public, issue an annual report to thegovernor, children's cabinet, and general assembly on the status of transitionservices and recommendations for improving opportunities for young persons withdisabilities to make a successful transition from school to self-sufficientadult life.
(d) Individualized transition planning will be initiated bythe school district to include the young person with a disability, guardian,general education and special education personnel as appropriate, vocationtechnical education, and representatives of any party to the delivery andimplementation of the individual plan. Transition planning will begin by agesixteen (16) and, when determined appropriate in the individualized educationprogram, at age fourteen (14) or younger for each eligible young person with adisability and shall be reviewed and updated annually.
(e) As used in this section:
(1) "Transition services" means a coordinated set ofactivities for a young person with a disability, designed within an outcomeoriented process, that promotes movement from school to post-school activitiesincluding postsecondary education, vocational training, integrated employment(including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adultservices, independent living, or community participation. The activities shallbe based on the needs of the individual young person with a disability, takinginto account the young person with a disability's preferences and interests;and shall include needed activities in the areas of:
(i) Instruction:
(ii) Community experiences;
(iii) The development of employment and other post-schooladult living objectives; and
(iv) If appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills andfunctional vocational evaluation.
(2) "Young person(s) with a disability" means those students:
(i) Evaluated in accordance with the Individuals withDisabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., as having mentalretardation, hearing impairments including deafness, speech or languageimpairments, visual impairments including blindness, serious emotionaldisturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, otherhealth impairments, specific learning disabilities, deaf-blindness, or multipledisabilities; or
(ii) Who because of those impairments needs special educationand related services, and
(iii) Age sixteen (16) and, when determined appropriate inthe individualized education program, at age fourteen (14) or younger.