Narrative: j. 2.

ARS has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Special Education for students in public schools. The parties agree to participate in technical assistance and in-service training to assist educational agencies in planning and coordinating services to ensure eligible individuals receive timely and appropriate supports and services. ARS Transition policy requires counselors to engage school personnel to generate student referrals and to develop an IPE for each student determined eligible. ADE is financially responsible for the delivery and coordination of secondary education as set forth through IDEA. ARS is responsible for coordinating Pre-ETS services, initiating the VR application process, determining eligibility, and providing vocational rehabilitation services for individuals determined eligible for general VR services. The Memorandum of Understanding between the agencies was signed by the Department of Education, Special Education Unit on 12/13/17, by the ARS Commissioner on 1/11/18, and the Division of Services for the Blind on 1/30/18, effective 1/30/18 when the last party signed.

Consultation and Technical Assistance

To improve the transition of students with disabilities from school to postsecondary education and employment, ARS and DSB support the following transition services to vocational rehabilitation personnel, the Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Special Education, and the local education agencies by:

• Providing instruction to vocational rehabilitation counselors, school transition personnel, and other persons supporting students with disabilities through group conferences, instructional materials and guidelines, reporting forms, webinar training, and telephone/email communications.
• Coordinating public speaking and training activities on transition services provided by local education agencies under IDEA.
• Developing model transition demonstration projects and establishing or supporting partnerships involving the local education agencies to achieve the goals of improved transition outcomes.
• Expanding Pre-ETS in schools throughout the State and at the Arkansas Career Development Center (ACDC). ACDC provides training and services to support VR clients and/or students with disabilities to successfully reach the milestones of their individual plans for employment.

ARS, LEAs, ADE, and VR service providers receive technical assistance and professional development from the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: the Collaborative (NTACT: the Collaborative) on topics like implementing evidence-based practices and preparing graduates for success in postsecondary education and employment.

ARS provides eligibility determination according to ARS policy, and consultation and technical assistance to educational agencies in planning for the transition of students with disabilities from school to post-school activities, including VR services when requested and appropriate. ARS counselors meet with special education teachers during the school year and provide information to schools about VR services, and ensure schools have appropriate forms and information for students to apply for services. ARS works with schools to assist the student with significant disabilities in identifying, selecting, and pursuing appropriate career objectives.

Partner high schools agree to work cooperatively with ARS to provide appropriate transition services to students to equip them for entry into the workforce, postsecondary education or training, and independent living. Schools carry out all required transition planning provisions mandated by the IDEA and state regulations, conduct regular staff development training regarding transition requirements and include ARS counselors in the training when appropriate, provide referrals to counselors, provide private space for counselors to meet with students, include counselors in students’ IEP meetings with authorization by parents or guardians and student knowledge, communicate regularly with counselors, and provide copies of school records.

ARS provides accommodations as needed to aid in successful completion of the vocational education program for VR eligible youth in accordance with their respective IPEs unless these accommodations are the responsibility of the LEA pursuant to Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) regulations. ARS provides technical assistance to local education agencies to ensure all youth and students with disabilities have equal educational opportunities to participate in programs, activities, and job opportunities, and to analyze, identify, and change policies and activities that impede the achievement of equal opportunities for all individuals.

The Interagency Agreement between the Arkansas Department of Education, Special Education Unit – Arkansas Transition Services, Division of Career and Technical Education, and ARS defines each party’s responsibilities to ensure FAPE for eligible students, ages 16-21, and younger when appropriate, which are identified as having a disability in accordance with IDEA.

Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Special Education, ARS, and DSB jointly agree to the following:

• The Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Special Education is the agency responsible for ensuring that FAPE is made available to eligible students pursuant to IDEA (20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(1).
• School districts have the primary planning, programmatic, and financial responsibilities for the provision of education transition services and related services for students as a component of FAPE and these services are provided to eligible students with disabilities, ages 16 to 21, and younger when determined appropriate through the implementation of the IEP. The parties acknowledge Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Special Education has general supervisory responsibility over the educational program of any public agency providing FAPE to individuals with disabilities, ages birth to 21, as defined in state and federal statutes.

The distinction between transition and related services that are the planning, programmatic, and financial responsibility of the school district is determined based on a delineation of the customary services the school provides under IDEA Part B. These distinctions describe the activities, supports, and funding ARS provides to support Pre-ETS in partner school settings or during the school day.

ARS is financially responsible for providing Pre-ETS to students who meet the definition of students with a disability as defined by WIOA. ARS works cooperatively to ensure individuals with disabilities have access to the training and necessary supports to transition successfully from secondary school to postsecondary activities, including but not limited to vocational training and employment, and completing an IPE before leaving the school setting. ARS agrees the student and/or designated party has informed choice in the development of the IPE.

ARS counselors attend IEP and transition planning meetings, career fairs, back to school nights, group orientations, and transition fairs, and make presentations to schools and families throughout the year with partner agencies like Arkansas Transition Services, Department of Youth Services, Department of Human Services, Adult Education, Workforce Services, and the Division of Services for the Blind. ARS collaborates with partner agencies through shared recruiting and the application processes for special programs outreach. These outreach efforts provide creative programs like the Youth Leadership Forum, the Inclusion Film Camp, the Transition Employment Program, and the Work-based Learning Opportunities Leading to Future Employment to identify students and get them interested in work and in participating in the full array of transition services. ARS goes directly to educational settings in Department of Youth Services facilities, where youth who are at-risk are identified and provided Pre-ETS and are given an opportunity to apply for full vocational rehabilitation services. ARS provides brochures and introductory meetings to explain available services for youth seeking competitive-integrated employment outcomes.

Transition stakeholders and partners participate in NTACT: the Collaborative’s sponsored capacity building activities, such as The Capacity Building Institute and related regional and/or national meetings. Arkansas utilizes a state implementation team to support personnel development opportunities for Arkansas educators and service providers. The implementation team participates in data review, problem solving, and strategic planning that informs personnel development opportunities.

Number of Potentially Eligible in the State

Each school year, ARS requests data from the Arkansas Office of Information Technology that provides a total count of students, aged 16-21, on Individual Education Plans and on 504 plans within the Arkansas public school system.

Set-aside Process for Authorized Activities

Each state fiscal year, ARS utilizes the technical assistance centers’ guidance formulas for determining the total amount of funds that can be expended on authorized activities. First, the total number of students with disabilities in the state which includes those students eligible for the VR program as well as those “potentially eligible” students with disabilities is determined using data collected from the Arkansas Department of Education Statewide Information System. Next, ARS determines the number of students with disabilities that need pre-employment transition services (required and coordinated activities) and subtracts the percentage of those who are not receiving services. ARS then finds the cost per student on coordination and core services using expenditures from the prior fiscal year. Funds used on auxiliary aids and services (34 CFR 361.65(a)(3)(i)) needed by a student with a disability to access pre-employment transition services are applied to the cost per student for coordination and core services. The cost of the following services used to support eligible students to receive core Pre-ETS services are also factored into the cost per student: transportation, assessment, maintenance, PCA services, rehabilitation technology, family services, and coaches for work-based learning. Next, ARS multiplies the cost per student by the total number of potentially eligible individuals. This amount is subtracted from the funds reserved from the VR grant for the provision of Pre-ETS. If the result is negative, ARS focuses on core and coordination activities, without expanding to authorized activities. If the amount is positive, then ARS moves to authorized activities. In all events, ARS ensures the state-wideness of the program in the provision of required activities, provides core services directly from counselors assigned to the public high schools in each school district to provide direct services, and provides fee-for-service vendors throughout the state to offer core services.

Pre-ETS Students and Section 511

1. ARS has developed a subminimum wage flow process and forms located on the ARS shared drive. If a youth with a disability is seeking subminimum wage and has completed secondary education and is 24 years old or younger, he/she cannot start working for less than minimum wage until he/she has had the opportunity to:
   A. Receive Pre-employment transition services under WIOA, or
   B. Transition services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA)
   C. Applied for ARS services, in accordance with 34 CFR 361.41(b), and determined—
        i. Ineligible for vocational rehabilitation services in accordance with 34 CFR 361.43;
       ii. Eligible for vocational rehabilitation services, in accordance with 34 CFR361.42; and
            a. The youth with a disability had an approved individualized plan for employment, in accordance with 34 CFR 361.46; and
            b. The youth with a disability was unable to achieve the employment outcome specified in the individualized plan for employment, as described in 34 CFR 361.5(c)(15) and 361.46, despite working toward the employment outcome with reasonable accommodations and appropriate supports and services, including supported employment services and customized employment services, for a reasonable period of time; and
            c. The youth with a disability’s case record, which meets all of the requirements of 34 CFR 361.47, is closed.
    
2. ARS has a contract in place to ensure that youth with disabilities receive career counseling, and information and referrals supports designed to enable the individual to explore, discover, experience, and attain competitive integrated employment.

Section 511 Documentation and Assurances

Once ARS determines a student cannot benefit from services leading to competitive integrated employment in the community, the following is provided to the student before he/she leaves the school setting:

1. Documentation of the completion of appropriate pre-employment transition services and/or transition services (ARS Transition Form 511/SMW-1).
2. Documentation from the appropriate school personnel responsible for the provision of transition services to the VR counselor of the receipt of transition services under IDEA. This documentation must be provided to the VR counselor when a case is opened and may include a copy of the IEP and progress reports on transition services received.
3. Documentation of the application of VR services with the result that the student was either determined ineligible for VR services or determined eligible and had an approved individualized plan for employment but was unable to receive the employment outcome and the case was closed.
4. Documentation from VR of receipt of career counseling and information and referral to other federal and/or state programs. This is completed using ARS Transition Section 511 SMW-2 form Career Counseling, Information and Referral, Student/Youth Services.
5. Documentation of the refusal of services; ARS Transition Section 511 SMW-3 form completed for those students, parents, and guardians that refuse services.

The following assurances are in effect:

1. The SEA nor the LEA will enter into an arrangement with an entity holding a special wage certificate under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act for the purposes of operating a program in which students or youth with disabilities are paid subminimum wage.
2. Before a 14(c) entity may begin compensating a youth with a disability at subminimum wage, the youth must complete Pre-Employment Transition Services through VR or the youth must present documentation showing completion of transition services under IDEA from the school system.
3. The LEA will refer a student with a disability known to be seeking subminimum wage employment to the VR program prior to referring that student to a subminimum wage program.