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HB4581 Enrolled LRB104 17923 LNS 31360 b
1 AN ACT concerning education.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
5 14-8.03 as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 5/14-8.03) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.03)
7 Sec. 14-8.03. Transition services.
8 (a) For purposes of this Section:
9 "Independent living skills" may include, without
10 limitation, personal hygiene, health care, fitness, food
11 preparation and nutrition, home management and safety,
12 dressing and clothing care, financial management and wellness,
13 self-esteem, self-advocacy, self-determination, community
14 living, housing options, public safety, leisure and
15 recreation, and transportation.
16 "Transition services" means a coordinated set of
17 activities for a child with a disability that (i) is designed
18 to be within a results-oriented process that is focused on
19 improving the academic and functional achievement of the child
20 with a disability to facilitate the child's movement from
21 school to post-school activities, including post-secondary
22 education, which may include for-credit courses, career and
23 technical education, and non-credit courses and instruction,
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1 vocational education, integrated employment (including
2 supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult
3 services, independent living, or community participation; (ii)
4 is based on the individual child's needs, taking into account
5 the child's strengths, preferences, and interests; and (iii)
6 includes instruction, related services, community experiences,
7 the development of employment and other post-school adult
8 living objectives, and, if appropriate, acquisition of daily
9 living skills, benefits counseling and planning, work
10 incentives education, and the provision of a functional
11 vocational evaluation. Transition services for a child with a
12 disability may be special education, if provided as specially
13 designed instruction, or a related service if required to
14 assist a child with a disability to benefit from special
15 education.
16 (a-5) Beginning no later than the first individualized
17 education program (IEP) in effect when the student turns age
18 14 1/2 (or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP Team)
19 and updated annually thereafter, the IEP must include (i)
20 measurable post-secondary goals based upon age-appropriate
21 transition assessments and other information available
22 regarding the student that are related to training, education,
23 employment, and independent living skills and (ii) the
24 transition services needed to assist the student in reaching
25 those goals, including courses of study.
26 As a component of transition planning, the school district
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1 shall provide the student and the parent or guardian of the
2 student with information about the school district's career
3 and technical education (CTE) opportunities and postsecondary
4 CTE opportunities. The CTE information shall include a list of
5 programming options, the scope and sequence of study for
6 pursuing those options, and the locations of those options. A
7 student in high school with an IEP may enroll in the school
8 district's CTE program at any time if participation in a CTE
9 program is consistent with the student's transition goals.
10 The student and the parent or guardian of the student
11 shall be provided with information about dual credit courses
12 offered by the school district. The information shall include
13 courses offered by the school district for dual credit under
14 Section 16 of the Dual Credit Quality Act and courses in which
15 the student may enroll for high school credit only under
16 Section 16.5 of the Dual Credit Quality Act. The information
17 shall include the criteria for entry into any dual credit
18 course in which the student or the parent or guardian of the
19 student indicates interest. If the student is enrolled in a
20 dual credit course for dual credit or for high school credit
21 only, the student's participation in the course shall be
22 included as part of the student's transition IEP activities.
23 The student's transition plan shall include consideration
24 of the student's assistive technology needs, such as assistive
25 technology evaluations, devices, and services, related to the
26 student's transition goals for employment, education or
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1 training, and independent living, both while the student is
2 participating in transition-related activities and in
3 post-school activities. The student's transition plan shall
4 also include consideration of the availability and
5 accessibility of appropriate assistive technology devices and
6 services for the student once in the post-school environment.
7 By the school year in which the student turns 16, the
8 transition planning process must include discussions with the
9 student's IEP team, including the student, the student's
10 parent or guardian, and other appropriate team members,
11 regarding the student's graduation status and the implications
12 of high school graduation.
13 The transition planning process must include informing the
14 student, the student's parent or guardian, and the student's
15 designated representative under Section 14-6.10 that (i)
16 graduation with a regular high school diploma terminates the
17 student's eligibility for a free appropriate public education
18 (FAPE) under the federal Individuals with Disabilities
19 Education Act and State law and (ii) under Section 14-1.02,
20 the student can continue to receive IEP services until the end
21 of the school year in which the student turns 22 when
22 appropriate to meet the student's IEP goals.
23 (b) Transition planning must be conducted as part of the
24 IEP process and must be governed by the procedures applicable
25 to the development, review, and revision of the IEP, including
26 notices to the parents and student, parent and student
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1 participation, and annual review. To appropriately assess and
2 develop IEP transition goals and transition services for a
3 child with a disability, additional participants may be
4 necessary and may be invited by the school district, parent,
5 or student to participate in the transition planning process.
6 Additional participants may include without limitation a
7 representative from the Department of Human Services or
8 another State agency, a case coordinator, or persons
9 representing other public or community agencies or services,
10 such as adult service providers, disability services
11 coordinators of public community colleges, and a CTE
12 coordinator. The IEP shall identify each person responsible
13 for coordinating and delivering transition services. If the
14 IEP team determines that the student requires transition
15 services from a public or private entity outside of the school
16 district, the IEP team shall identify potential outside
17 resources, assign one or more IEP team members to contact the
18 appropriate outside entities, make the necessary referrals,
19 provide any information and documents necessary to complete
20 the referral, follow up with the entity to ensure that the
21 student has been successfully linked to the entity, and
22 monitor the student's progress to determine if the student's
23 IEP transition goals and benchmarks are being met. The
24 student's IEP shall indicate one or more specific time periods
25 during the school year when the IEP team shall review the
26 services provided by the outside entity and the student's
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1 progress in such activities. The public school's
2 responsibility for delivering educational services does not
3 extend beyond the time the student leaves school or when the
4 student's eligibility ends due to age under this Article.
5 (c) A school district shall submit annually a summary of
6 each eligible student's IEP transition goals and transition
7 services resulting from the IEP Team meeting to the
8 appropriate local Transition Planning Committee. If students
9 with disabilities who are ineligible for special education
10 services request transition services, local public school
11 districts shall assist those students by identifying
12 post-secondary school goals, delivering appropriate education
13 services, and coordinating with other agencies and services
14 for assistance.
15 (d) The General Assembly makes all of the following
16 findings:
17 (1) The Work Incentives Planning and Assistance
18 program is federally funded through the U.S. Social
19 Security Administration and is designed to assist people
20 with disabilities transition to financial independence.
21 (2) The Work Incentives Planning and Assistance
22 program serves people who are at least 14 years of age,
23 receive federal Supplemental Security Income or Social
24 Security Disability Income benefits based on a disability,
25 and are either working, have an offer of employment, or
26 are seeking employment.
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1 (3) The Work Incentives Planning and Assistance
2 program's services are provided by trained Community Work
3 Incentives Coordinators and include public benefits
4 analysis and counseling, technical assistance for
5 navigating various work incentives rules, problem-solving
6 interventions with the U.S. Social Security
7 Administration, and referral services to vocational
8 rehabilitation agencies and employment networks.
9 The purpose of this subsection is to ensure that students
10 with disabilities, their parents and guardians, and school
11 personnel responsible for coordinating transition plans and
12 services for school districts, special education joint
13 agreements, and other relevant educational agencies are made
14 aware of the services available in this State under the Work
15 Incentives Planning and Assistance program.
16 By January 1, 2027, informational materials on the Work
17 Incentives Planning and Assistance program shall be provided
18 to a student and the student's parent or guardian at the
19 initial transition planning meeting convened for the student
20 by the school district and during the student's final year in
21 high school. The process of obtaining and disseminating the
22 informational materials shall be determined by the school
23 district in collaboration with the Work Incentives Planning
24 and Assistance program serving the area.
25 (Source: P.A. 103-181, eff. 6-30-23; 103-854, eff. 8-9-24;
26 104-232, eff. 8-15-25.)
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1 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
2 becoming law.Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.