86R6962 MP-F
 
  By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1759
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to an individualized education program and 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.  Sections 29.005(b-1) and (e), Education Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (b-1)  The written statement of the individualized education
  program must document the decisions of the committee with respect
  to issues discussed at each committee meeting. The written
  statement must include:
               (1)  the date of the meeting;
               (2)  the name, position, and signature of each member
  participating in the meeting; [and]
               (3)  an indication of whether the student's [child's]
  parents, the adult student, if applicable, and the administrator
  agreed or disagreed with the decisions of the committee; and
               (4)  if the student does not attend the meeting:
                     (A)  a statement indicating the reason for the
  student's absence, if known; and
                     (B)  a statement summarizing any goals or services
  requested by the student relating to the transition to life outside
  the public school system if the student is:
                           (i)  14 years of age or older; or
                           (ii)  younger than 14 years of age and
  appropriate transition planning under Section 29.011 has begun.
         (e)  The commissioner by rule may require a school district
  to include in the individualized education program of a student
  with autism or another pervasive developmental disorder any
  information or requirement determined necessary to ensure the
  student receives a free appropriate public education as required
  under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.
  Section 1400 et seq.), including information or requirements
  regarding consideration and, if appropriate, the:
               (1)  facilitation of a referral of the student or the
  student's parents to a governmental agency for services or public
  benefits as described by Section 29.011(a)(9); and
               (2)  development of the student's decision-making
  skills or fostering of the student's independence and
  self-determination as described by Section 29.011(a)(10).
         SECTION 2.  Section 29.011, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-3) to read as
  follows:
         (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 if appropriate, address the following
  issues in the student's individualized education program:
               (1)  [appropriate] student involvement and
  participation in the student's transition to life outside the
  public school system;
               (2)  if the student is younger than 18 years of age,
  [appropriate] involvement and participation in any discussion or
  meeting concerning the student's transition by the student, 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,
  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;
               (4)  appropriate postsecondary education options,
  including preparation for postsecondary-level coursework;
               (5)  an appropriate 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, including orientation and preparation for the use of
  local public or private transportation systems designed for the
  general public or for persons with disabilities;
               (9)  appropriate circumstances for facilitating a
  referral of a student or the student's parents to a governmental
  agency for services or public benefits, including for health care
  coverage or a referral 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 appropriate:
                     (A)  supplementary aids, services, curricula, and
  other opportunities to assist the student in developing
  decision-making skills; and
                     (B)  supports and services to foster the student's
  independence and self-determination, including a supported
  decision-making agreement under Chapter 1357, Estates Code;
               (11)  appropriate coordination with any transition
  planning or services provided to the student by the following
  agencies, including by inviting those agencies to participate in
  the student's transition or future under Subdivision (2) or (3):
                     (A)  state agencies, including the Texas
  Workforce Commission, Health and Human Services Commission, or
  Department of Family and Protective Services; or
                     (B)  local agencies, including centers for
  independent living, local intellectual and developmental
  disability authorities, or community-based mental health centers;
  and
               (12)  appropriate information on available services
  provided by the school district if the student will graduate from
  high school but not be awarded a high school diploma under Section
  28.025(c)(1).
         (a-3)  A school district that does not invite a state or
  local agency described by Subsection (a)(11) to participate in a
  student's transition or future under Subsection (a)(2) or (3) must
  include a statement in the student's individualized education
  program indicating the reason the agency was not invited to
  participate.
         SECTION 3.  Section 29.0112(b), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  The transition and employment guide must be written in a
  plain-language, student-friendly format [plain language] and
  contain information specific to this state regarding:
               (1)  transition services;
               (2)  employment and supported employment services that
  adhere to the employment-first policy adopted under Section
  531.02447, Government Code;
               (3)  social security programs, including the Ticket to
  Work Program authorized by the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives
  Improvement Act of 1999 (Pub. L. No. 106-170);
               (4)  community and long-term services and support,
  including the option to place the student on a waiting list with a
  governmental agency 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));
               (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-centered and
  person-directed planning, and self-determination; [and]
               (9)  public and private transportation systems,
  including options designed for persons with disabilities;
               (10)  health care services and coverage, including the
  process for transitioning to adult health care;
               (11)  mental health and wellness services;
               (12)  voting and civic engagement;
               (13)  financial literacy, including plain-language
  information and curricula that promotes the understanding and
  effective management of financial resources for a lifetime of
  financial well-being;
               (14)  available programs that promote employment and
  financial independence, including:
                     (A)  special needs trusts;
                     (B)  the Texas Achieving a Better Life Experience
  (ABLE) Program under Subchapter J, Chapter 54, authorized under
  Section 529A, Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
                     (C)  the Medicaid buy-in programs implemented
  under Section 531.02444, Government Code; and
                     (D)  other work incentive programs; and
               (15)  contact information for all relevant state
  agencies.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 29.0113 to read as follows:
         Sec. 29.0113.  SUBMINIMUM WAGE EMPLOYMENT FOR STUDENTS WITH
  DISABILITIES. The commissioner shall adopt rules that comply with:
               (1)  the requirements under 34 C.F.R. Section 397.30
  relating to subminimum wage employment for students with
  disabilities; and
               (2)  the prohibition under 34 C.F.R. Section 397.31 on
  contractual or other arrangements to provide subminimum wage
  employment for students with disabilities.
         SECTION 5.  Section 352.108, Labor Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (b), (d), and (e) and adding Subsection (f) to
  read as follows:
         (b)  The commission and the Texas Education Agency shall
  collaborate to develop a mechanism to identify the areas of the
  state with the greatest needs for transition services for students
  with disabilities. The mechanism must account for the commission's
  limited resources and a public school's [school district's] needs,
  including:
               (1)  the school's [school district's] resources for
  special education;
               (2)  the number of students with disabilities in the
  school [district]; and
               (3)  other factors that the commission and the Texas
  Education Agency consider important.
         (d)  The commission shall develop uniform, statewide
  policies for transition services that include:
               (1)  the goal that a transition counselor initiate
  contact with a student approximately three years before the student
  is expected to graduate from high school;
               (2)  the minimum level of services to be provided to a
  student at the time that a transition counselor initiates contact
  with the student;
               (3)  standards, based on the mechanism developed under
  Subsection (b), for assigning a transition counselor to a public
  school that ensure consistency among regions but that are not too
  restrictive;
               (4)  expectations for transition counselors to develop
  relationships with public school personnel, including the employee
  designated to serve as the school's [school district's] designee on
  transition and employment services under Section 29.011(b),
  Education Code; and
               (5)  expectations for regional commission staff to work
  with education service center representatives on a regular basis to
  identify areas of greatest need and to discuss local strategies for
  coordination between transition counselors and public schools.
         (e)  The commission and the Texas Education Agency shall
  enter into a memorandum of understanding to comply with the
  policies under this section and to improve coordination between the
  agencies. The memorandum of understanding must include:
               (1)  strategies to better inform transition clients,
  clients' families, and public school personnel regarding the
  commission's available services, including by:
                     (A)  providing [and] contact information for
  commission transition counselors; and
                     (B)  ensuring public schools provide commission
  transition counselors with timely access to students with
  disabilities and the students' parents or guardians to discuss the
  commission's available services and the role of commission
  transition counselors;
               (2)  a process to be used by the commission and the
  Texas Education Agency to develop and update the mechanism used to
  identify students who may need services; and
               (3)  strategies to promote the development,
  coordination, provision, and evaluation of pre-employment
  transition services provided to students with disabilities in
  accordance with Section 113, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
  Section 733).
         (f)  The commission and the Texas Education Agency shall
  review and, if necessary, update the memorandum of understanding
  under Subsection (e) at least once every four years. In conducting
  the review, the commission and the Texas Education Agency shall
  solicit input from the continuing advisory committee appointed
  under Section 29.006, Education Code, and the Rehabilitation
  Council of Texas.
         SECTION 6.  This Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020
  school year.
         SECTION 7.  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, 2019.