EDUCATION AND TRANSITIONAL SERVICES FOR YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES.

SEC. 306. SECONDARY EDUCATION AND TRANSITIONAL SERVICES FOR YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES. (a) Amendments to Subsection (a).— Section 626(a)(1) (20 U.S.C. 1425(a)(1)) is amended by inserting “independent and community living,” after “continuing education,”. (b) Amendments to Subsection (b).— Section 626(b) (20 U.S.C. 1425(b)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting “independent living,” after “training,”; (2) in paragraph (8), by striking “handicapped youth” and all that follows and inserting the following: “some youth with disabilities remain to complete school programs while others drop out,”; (3) in paragraph (9), by striking “developing” and all that follows through “techniques” and inserting “developing curriculum and instructional techniques in special education and related services”; (4) in paragraph (10)— (A) by inserting “or adapted” after “specially designed”; and (B) by striking “to increase” and all that follows and inserting the following: “to facilitate the full participation of youths with disabilities in community programs.”; and (5) by striking “and” at the end of paragraph (9), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (10) and inserting in lieu thereof “, and”, and by adding after paragraph (10) the following: “(11) developing and disseminating exemplary programs and practices that meet the unique needs of students who utilize assistive technology devices and assistive technology services as such students make the transition to postsecondary education, vocational training, competitive employment (including supported employment), and continuing education or adult services.”. (c) Amendments to Subsection (d).— Section 626(d)(3) (20 U.S.C. 1425(d)(3)) is amended by striking “to the extent appropriate,”. (d) New Subsection (e).— Section 626 (20 U.S.C. 1425) is amended by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections (f) and (g), respectively, and by inserting after subsection (d) the following new subsection: “(e) (1) The Secretary shall make one-time, 5-year grants, on a competitive basis, to States in which the State vocational rehabilitation agency and State educational agency submit a joint application to develop, implement, and improve systems to provide transition services for youth with disabilities from age 14 through the age they exit school. “(2) In the case of a State whose vocational rehabilitation agency does not participate regarding a joint application described in paragraph (1), the Secretary may make a grant under such paragraph to the State if a joint application for the grant is submitted by the State educational agency and one other State agency that provides transition services to individuals who are leaving programs under this Act. (3) States that receive grants shall use grant funds to: “(A) Increase the availability, access, and quality of transition assistance through the development and improvement of poli-104 STAT. 1125cies, procedures, systems, and other mechanisms for youth with disabilities and their families as such youth prepare for and enter adult life. “(B) Improve the ability of professionals, parents, and advocates to work with such youth in ways that promote the understanding of and the capability to successfully make the transition from ‘student’ to ‘adult’. “(C) Improve working relationships among education personnel, both within LEAs and in postsecondary training programs, relevant State agencies, the private sector (especially employers), rehabilitation personnel, local and State employment agencies, local Private Industry Councils (PICS) authorized by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), and families of students with disabilities and their advocates to identify and achieve consensus on the general nature and specific application of transition services to meet the needs of youth with disabilities. “(D) Create an incentive for accessing and using the expertise and resources of programs, projects, and activities related to transition funded through this section and with other sources. “(4) (A) In order to receive funding under this subsection, a State vocational rehabilitation agency and State educational agency shall describe in their application how they will use the first year, if necessary, to plan how to implement transition services, the second through fourth years to develop and implement transition services, and the fifth year to evaluate transition services. The application shall describe how the grant funds will be used during the planning period and phased out during the evaluation period to ensure the continuation of transition services. Such applications shall also include— “(i) a description of the current availability, access, and quality of transition services for eligible youth and a description of how, over 5 years, the State will improve and expand the availability, access, and quality of transition services for youth with disabilities and their families as such youth prepare for and enter adult life; “(ii) a description of how the State will improve and increase the ability of professionals, parents, and advocates to work with such youth in ways that promote the understanding of and the capability to successfully make the transition from ‘student’ to ‘adult’; “(iii) a description of how the State will improve and increase working relationships among education personnel, both within LEAs and in postsecondary training programs, relevant State agencies, the private sector (especially employers), rehabilitation personnel, local and State employment agencies, local Private Industry Councils (PICS) authorized by the JTPA, and families of students with disabilities and their advocates to identify and achieve consensus on the general nature and specific application of transition services to meet the needs of youth with disabilities; and “(iv) a description of how the State will use grant funds as an incentive for accessing and using the expertise and resources of programs, projects, and activities related to transition funded through this section and with other sources. “(B) The Secretary shall give preference to those applications that, in addition to clearly addressing the requirements under subparagraph (A), describe how the State will— 104 STAT. 1126 “(i) target resources to school settings, such as providing access to rehabilitation counselors for students with disabilities who are in school settings; “(ii) target a substantial amount of grant funds, received under this subsection, to case management, program evaluation and documentation of, and dissemination of information about, transition services; “(iii) provide incentives for interagency and private sector resource pooling and otherwise investing in transition services, especially in the form of cooperative agreements, particularly with PICS authorized by the JTPA and local branches of State employment agencies; “(iv) provide for early, ongoing information and training for those involved with or who could be involved with transition services—professionals, parents, youth with disabilities, including self-advocacy training for such youth, and advocates for such youth as well as PICS authorized by the JTPA and local branches of State employment agencies; “(v) provide for the early and direct involvement of all relevant parties, including PICS authorized by the JTPA and local branches of State employment agencies, in operating and planning improvements in transition services, and the early and direct involvement of all relevant parties in planning and implementing transition services for individual youth; “(vi) provide access to training for eligible youth that matches labor market needs in their communities; “(vii) integrate transition services with relevant opportunities in communities, including those sponsored by PICS authorized by the JTPA and local employment agencies; “(viii) use a transition services evaluation plan that is out-come oriented and that focuses on individual youth-focused benefits; and “(ix) ensure that, when appropriate and no later than age 22, eligible youth who participate in transition services under this program would be served as appropriate in the State section 110 and/or title VI, part C program authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.”. (e) Amendments to Former Subsection (e).— Section 626(f), as redesignated by subsection (d) of this section, is amended— (1) (A) by inserting “(1)” after the subsection designation; and (B) by adding at the end of paragraph (1) (as so designated) the following new sentence: “Such organizations and institutions shall disseminate such materials and information as prescribed under section 610(g).”; (2) by adding after paragraph (1) (as so designated) the following new paragraph: “(2) The Secretary shall fund one or more demonstration models designed to establish appropriate methods of providing, or continuing to provide, assistive technology devices and services to secondary school students as they make the transition to vocational rehabilitation, employment, postsecondary education, or adult services. Such demonstration models shall include, as appropriate— “(A) cooperative agreements with the Rehabilitation Services Administration and/or State vocational rehabilitation agencies that ensure continuity of funding for assistive technology devices and services to such students; and 104 STAT. 1127 “(B) methods for dissemination of exemplary practices that can be adapted or adopted by transitional programs for secondary school students with disabilities.”; and (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(3) (A) The Secretary shall award one, five-year cooperative agreement through a separate competition to an institution of higher education, or nonprofit public or private organization. The purpose of this agreement will be to evaluate and document the approaches and outcomes of the projects funded under subsection (e). The results of this agreement shall be disseminated through the appropriate clearinghouses, networks, and through direct communication with Federal, State, and local agencies. “(B) The evaluation carried out pursuant to subparagraph (A) of transition services under subsection (e) shall include an evaluation of— “(i) the outcomes of the transition services provided under such subsection, including the effect of the services regarding postsecondary education, job training, employment, and other appropriate matters; “(ii) the impact of including in the individualized education program a statement of needed transition services (as required under section 602(a)(20)(D)); “(iii) the extent to which, in the provision of the transition services, agencies are cooperating effectively, including evaluation of the extent of coordination of the staff of the agencies, of procedures regarding confidentiality, assessment of needs, and referrals, and coordination regarding data bases and training; “(iv) the extent to which obstacles exist regarding cooperation and coordination among agencies in the provision of the transition services, and the extent to which Federal law creates disincentives to such cooperation and coordination; and “(v) the extent to which the transition services have been provided in a cost-effective manner. “(C) The evaluation carried out pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall include recommendations on the manner in which the program under subsection (e) can be improved. “(D) In the annual report required under section 618(g), the Secretary shall include a report of the activities and results associated with the agreement under subparagraph (A).”. (f) Amendments to Former Subsection (f).— Section 626(g), as redesignated by subsection (d) of this section, is amended by inserting before the period the following: “, the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act”.