The Department of Rehabilitation Services shall establish a program to assist public school students with disabilities in preparing for and obtaining competitive employment and to strengthen the linkage between vocational rehabilitation services and public schools. Under the program, the Department of Rehabilitation Services shall provide, within the limits of available appropriations, vocational evaluations and other appropriate transitional services and shall provide vocational rehabilitation counselors to school districts throughout the state. The counselors shall, if requested, assist those persons planning in-school skill development programs. The counselors shall, with planning and placement team members, develop transition plans and individual education and work rehabilitation plans for students with disabilities who will no longer be eligible for continued public school services. Students whose termination date for receipt of public school services is most immediate shall be given priority.

(P.A. 86-360, S. 1, 2; P.A. 89-237, S. 2, 5, 11; 89-354, S. 15, 21; P.A. 90-325, S. 12, 32; P.A. 93-262, S. 1, 87; P.A. 11-44, S. 54; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 66; P.A. 13-7, S. 4; P.A. 17-202, S. 60.)

History: P.A. 89-237 changed the program from a three-year pilot to a permanent program, provided that counselors be placed in school districts selected by the division of vocational rehabilitation, deleted obsolete provision re report to general assembly due January 15, 1989, and made a technical change (Revisor’s note: The term “division of vocational rehabilitation” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “bureau of rehabilitation services” when P.A. 89-237 was merged with P.A. 89-354 to reflect the name change in section 5 of P.A. 89-354); P.A. 89-354 changed pilot program to continuing program, changed division of vocational services to bureau of rehabilitation services, changed responsibilities of program from state board of education to department of human resources and added the school district of Norwich to section and deleted obsolete study report, effective July 1, 1990; P.A. 90-325 changed the effective date of P.A. 89-354 from July 1, 1990, to 60 days after the determination by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services of the U.S. Department of Education that department of human resources meets all applicable federal statutory and regulatory requirements to be designated as sole state agency to administer the state plan for vocational rehabilitation services and that proposed bureau of rehabilitation services within the department meets all applicable federal statutory and regulatory requirements as a vocational rehabilitation organizational unit, i.e. July 1, 1991; Sec. 10-99e transferred to Sec. 17-624 in 1993; P.A. 93-262 authorized substitution of commissioner and department of social services for commissioner and department of human resources, effective July 1, 1993; Sec. 17-624 transferred to Sec. 17b-612 in 1995; P.A. 11-44 replaced “Department of Social Services” and “Bureau of Rehabilitation Services” with “Bureau of Rehabilitative Services”, effective July 1, 2011; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1 replaced “Bureau of Rehabilitative Services” with “Department of Rehabilitation Services”, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 13-7 replaced provision re placement of vocational rehabilitation counselors in specified school districts with provision re rehabilitation counselors to be provided to school districts throughout the state, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 17-202 replaced references to disabled students with references to students with disabilities.