SUBJECT: Identification of District Transition and Employment Services Designee

SUBJECT: Identification of District Transition and Employment Services Designee

July 16, 2014

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

SUBJECT: Identification of District Transition and Employment Services Designee

House Bill (HB) 617, 83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2013 (see attachment) amended Section 29.011 of the Texas Education Code. The state law now requires each local education agency (LEA) or shared services arrangement (SSA) to designate at least one employee to serve as the LEA or SSA designee on transition and employment services for students enrolled in special education programs. The purpose of this letter is to inform LEAs and SSAsthat a portal has been developed on the Legal Framework for the Child-Centered Special Education Process (Legal Framework) website for identification of the district’s transition and employment services designee.

Duties of the LEA or SSA Transition and Employment Designee

The amended law requires that anindividual identified as the transition and employment designee provide information and resources about effective transition planning and services and interagency coordination to ensure that local school staff communicate and collaborate with:

  1. students enrolled in special education programs and the parents of those students; and
  2. as appropriate, local and regional staff of the:

(A)Health and Human Services Commission;

(B)Department of Aging and Disability Services;

(C)Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services;

(D)Department of State Health Services; and

(E)Department of Family and Protective Services.

Please consider these duties/activities when selecting your LEA or SSA transition and employment designee. The amended law also requires the development of minimum training guidelines for the designee. These guidelines are being developed, and will be shared with stakeholders for input/feedback. The guidelines willbe disseminated in the spring of 2015.

Entering the District Transition and Employment Services Designee Information

LEAs and SSAs must enter transition and employment services designee information into the authoring system of the Legal Framework by September 1, 2014. Please use the following link to submit the information:

The followinginformation must be submitted by the Legal Framework account holder. Information to be submitted includes:

  1. first and last name;
  2. position or title;
  3. address, city, and zip code;
  4. phone number;
  5. fax number; and
  6. email address.

Once entered, this information will be visible on the Legal Framework site for use by the public.

Lastly, The Texas Transition and Employment Guide (Guide), also required by HB 617, will be posted to the TEA website no later than September 1, 2014 in its inaugural version. This guide is intended to provide information for students and their parents on statewide services and programs that assist in the transition to life outside the public school system. The Guide is being developed by the Agency and Education Service Center Region 11, with assistance from Health and Human Services Commission/Agencies and stakeholders. LEAs and SSAs must also post this Guide on their websites, if they maintain a website, and provide students/parents with information on how to access the Guide. Additional information pertaining to the Guide will be forthcoming in late August.

If you have questions and/or require additional information, please contact the Division of Federal and State Education Policy by email at by phone at(512) 463-9414.

Sincerely,

Gene Lenz

Director

Federal and State Education Policy