Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for State Vocational Rehabilitation (Combined or General)
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan must include the following descriptions and estimates, as required by sections 101(a) and 606 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by title IV of WIOA.
- GEPA 427 Form Instructions for Application Package - Vocational Rehabilitation
EQUITY FOR STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, AND OTHER PROGRAM BENEFICIARIES
OMB Control Number 1894-0005 Expiration 02/28/2026
Section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) (20 U.S.C. 1228a) applies to a State applicant submitting a state plan for a formula grant from the US Department of Education. The State applicant is responsible for completing the GEPA Section 427 form that provides a description of the steps the State proposes to take to ensure all program beneficiaries have equitable access to, and participation in, its Federally funded, State-level project or activity.
GEPA Section 427 Form Instructions for State Applicants
State applicants must respond to the following four questions:
1. Describe how your entity’s existing mission, policies, or commitments ensure equitable access to, and equitable participation in, the proposed project or activity.
2. Based on your proposed project or activity, what barriers may impede equitable access and participation of students, educators, or other beneficiaries?
3. Based on the barriers identified, what steps will you take to address such barriers to equitable access and participation in the proposed project or activity?
4. What is your timeline, including targeted milestones, for addressing these identified barriers?
• Applicants identify any barriers that may impede equitable access and participation in the proposed project or activity, including, but not limited to, barriers based on economic disadvantage, gender, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, disability, age, language, migrant status, rural status, homeless status or housing insecurity, pregnancy, parenting, or caregiving status, and sexual orientation.
• Applicants use the associated text box to respond to each question. However, applicants might have already included some or all this required information in the narrative sections of their applications or their State Plans. In responding to this requirement, for each question, applicants may provide a cross-reference to the section(s) in their State Plans that includes the information responsive to that question on this form or may restate that information on this form.
• Applicants are not required to have mission statements or policies that align with equity to apply.
• Applicants that have already undertaken steps to address barriers must still provide an explanation and/or description of the steps already taken in each text box, as appropriate, to satisfy the GEPA Section 427 requirement.
• Applicants that believe no barriers exist must still provide an explanation and/or description to each question to validate that perception, as appropriate, to satisfy the GEPA Section 427 requirement.
Please refer to GEPA 427 - Form Instructions for Application Package
- GEPA 427 Form Instructions for Application Package - Vocational Rehabilitation
1. Describe how your entity’s existing mission, policies, or commitments ensure equitable access to, and equitable participation in, the proposed project or activity.
Section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) (20 U.S.C. 1228a) applies to a State applicant submitting a state plan for a formula grant from the US Department of Education. The State applicant is responsible for completing the GEPA Section 427 form that provides a description of the steps the State proposes to take to ensure all program beneficiaries have equitable access to, and participation in, its Federally funded, State-level project or activity.
GEPA 427 - Form Instructions for Application Package
State applicants must respond to four questions.
The first of four questions is:
Describe how your entity’s existing mission, policies, or commitments ensure equitable access to, and equitable participation in, the proposed project or activity.
Current Narrative:
Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation’s (MVR) mission of “empowering people with disabilities through employment” captures the purpose and essence of the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Program.
MVR guarantees equitable access to and equitable participation in the VR program, Title IV of WIOA, through its values and priorities, which include
- promoting opportunities to access postsecondary training services.
- serving potentially eligible students.
- engaging in continuous outreach efforts.
- creating employment opportunities through strong community partnerships.
- ensuring all VR services are individualized and available across all district offices.
- expanding diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts.
- capitalizing on technology and new efficiencies.
MVR guarantees equitable access to and equitable participation in the VR program with regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, veteran status, mental or physical disability, or any other basis prohibited by statute in its programs or employment practices as required by Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA), or USDA Title VI.
MVR also requires its providers to adhere to the same nondiscrimination standards and equitable access to and equitable participation in service delivery.
MVR is committed to equitable access through its participation on various boards, commissions, employer groups, and teams that promote programs intended to benefit individuals with disabilities. MVR staff are members of local workforce boards, the Missouri Assistive Technology Council, the State Rehabilitation Council, the Governor’s Council on Disability, the Missouri Interagency Transition Team, Reentry 2030, SB 40 boards, the State Independent Living Council, the Missouri Apprenticeship Team, the Missouri Parent Training Act and Information Center (MPACT) Board, the Special Education Advisory Panel, and Nexus groups (employment collaboratives).
MVR has entered into cooperative agreements and memorandums of understanding with agencies and entities to promote equitable access to services for individuals with disabilities, such as the MOU between MVR, Rehabilitation Services for the Blind, Department of Social Services MO Healthnet Divisions, and the Department of Mental Health Divisions of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities; the University of Missouri AgrAbilty Program; the Inter-Agency Transition Agreement between the Offices of Special Education and College and Career Readiness, Department of Social Services, and Rehabilitation Services for the Blind; local workforce boards; and with nonprofit, private community rehabilitation providers.