Chapter 197
2012 -- S 2446 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 06/11/12
A N A C T
RELATING TO
EDUCATION -- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
Introduced By: Senators Gallo, DeVall, Lanzi, and DiPalma
Date Introduced: February 16, 2012
It is enacted by the General
Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 16-24-18 of the General Laws in Chapter
16-24 entitled "Children
with Disabilities" is hereby amended to read as
follows:
16-24-18.
Transition from school to self-sufficient adulthood for students with
disabilities. -- (a)
There is established within the department of
elementary and secondary
education an interagency transition council (the
"transition council") composed of:
(1) The administrators
or their designees of the following:
(i)
Department of human services -- office of rehabilitation services;
(ii) Department of mental
health, retardation behavioral healthcare, developmental
disabilities and hospitals -- division of developmental
disabilities;
(iii) Department of mental
health, retardation behavioral healthcare, developmental
disabilities and hospitals -- division of mental health behavioral
healthcare;
(iv)
Department of children, youth, and families -- mental health
services;
(v) Department of elementary
and secondary education -- special education office of
student, community and academic supports;
(vi)
Department of elementary and secondary education -- vocational office
of adult and
career and technical education;
(vii) Department of
labor and training -- human resource investment council;
(viii) Department of
health -- division of community, family health, and equity; and
(2) Commissioner of
higher education or his or her designee; and
(3) Two (2) young
persons with disabilities, two (2) parents of young persons with
disabilities, and two (2) representatives of local school
districts and one transition coordinator
from one of the regional educational collaboratives,
appointed by the governor commissioner of
elementary and secondary education.
(4) One
representative of community-based providers of services to adults with
developmental disabilities and one representative of
community-based providers of adult
behavioral healthcare services, appointed by the director of the
department of behavioral
healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals.
(b) The goal of the
transition council is to ensure the preparedness of students with
disabilities, upon leaving school, to live and work in the
community.
(c) The transition
council shall draft and propose periodic revisions to the cooperative
agreement among the state departments and offices for the
provisions of services in the transition
of young persons with disabilities from school to
self-sufficient adult life. The directors of the
state departments and agencies shall sign the cooperative
agreement and any revisions, prior to
their implementation. The transition council shall oversee
the implementation of the cooperative
agreement. The council shall issue guidelines or instructions
and recommend to the state
departments and agencies appropriate directives necessary to
effectuate the implementation of the
cooperative agreement. The transition council shall develop joint
plans for state departments and
agencies and local school districts for providing transition
services to assist young persons with
disabilities. The transition council shall, after hearing from the
public, issue an annual report to
the governor, children's cabinet, and general assembly on
the status of transition services and
recommendations for improving opportunities for young persons with
disabilities to make a
successful transition from school to self-sufficient adult life.
(d) Individualized transition
planning will be initiated by the school district to include
the young person with a disability, guardian, general
education and special education personnel as
appropriate, vocation career and technical education,
and representatives of any party to the
delivery and implementation of the individual plan. Transition
planning will begin by age sixteen
(16) and, when fourteen (14) or younger if determined
appropriate in the individualized education
program, at age fourteen (14) or younger for each
eligible young person with a disability and
shall be reviewed and updated annually.
(e) As used in this
section:
(1) "Transition
services" means a coordinated set of activities for a young person with a
disability, designed within an outcome oriented process, that
promotes movement from school to
post-school activities including postsecondary education,
vocational training, integrated
employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult
education, adult services,
independent living, or community participation. The activities
shall be based on the needs of the
individual young person with a disability, taking into 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-school adult living objectives; and
(iv)
If appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional
vocational evaluation.
(2) "Young
person(s) with a disability" means those students:
(i)
Evaluated in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
20
U.S.C. section 1400 et seq., as having mental retardation,
hearing impairments including
deafness, speech or language impairments, visual impairments
including blindness, serious
emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism,
traumatic brain injury, other health
impairments, specific learning disabilities, deaf-blindness, or
multiple disabilities; or
(ii) Who because of
those impairments needs special education and related services, and
(iii) Age sixteen
(16) and, when fourteen (14) or younger if determined appropriate in
the individualized education program, at age fourteen
(14) or younger.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01733/SUB A/2
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