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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
special education; transition services; requirements
Purpose
Establishes the Individualized Education Program Advisory Council (Advisory Council) within the Division of Special Education to develop and adopt a statewide template for Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and a postsecondary education transition planning form as outlined. Requires public schools to use the statewide template for IEPs and provide transition services for each student who is a child with a disability. Appropriates $____ from the state General Fund (state GF) in FY 2025 to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to develop and adopt the statewide template for IEPs.
Background
The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ensures that all children with disabilities have free, appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment and independent living. A public school must have an IEP in effect for each child with a qualifying disability in specified categories. An IEP is a written statement that includes: 1) a child's academic achievement and functional performance and goals; 2) the services, aids, support and any individual accommodations to be provided; 3) the projected beginning date of the services and modifications; and 4) beginning when the child is 16 years old, appropriate postsecondary goals and the transition services to assist in reaching those goals (20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 and 1414).
Transition services means a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that: 1) is designed to be within a results-oriented process focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child to facilitate the child's movement from school to post-school activities; 2) is based on the individual child's needs, taking into account strengths, preferences and interests; and 3) includes instruction, related services, community experiences, the development of employment, other post-school adult living objectives and, when appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.
Child with a disability means a child who: 1) is between 3 and 22 years old; 2) has been evaluated and found to have at least one of the specified disabilities; and 3) because of the disability, needs special education and related services (A.R.S. § 15-761).
S.B. 1463 appropriates $_____ from the state GF in FY 2025 to ADE.
Provisions
Individualized Education Program Advisory Council
1. Establishes the Advisory Council within ADE's Division of Special Education.
2. Directs the SBE to appoint Advisory Council members for staggered three-year terms, including at least:
a) one special education director;
b) one parent of a child with a disability; and
c) one student who is a child with a disability.
3. Requires the Advisory Council to develop and adopt, subject to SBE-approval, a statewide template for IEPs that:
a) is written in plain and concise language;
b) is designed and structured in a clear and logical manner that is understandable by laypersons and that facilitates data collection;
c) meets all federal requirements; and
d) includes the postsecondary education transition planning form developed by the Advisory Council.
4. Appropriates $______ from the state GF in FY 2025 to ADE to develop and adopt a statewide template for IEPs.
5. Requires the Advisory Council to annually review the adopted statewide template for IEPs to determine what changes, if any, are necessary to ensure that the template:
a) focuses on the strengths of each child with a disability;
b) is designed to improve student outcomes and support instruction that is aligned with state standards;
c) promotes early learning, postsecondary transition planning and maximum participation in regular education classes;
d) assists special education teachers with planning and delivering specially designed instruction, accommodations and program modifications to meet the unique needs of each child with a disability;
e) promotes meaningful participation of regular education teachers in developing IEPs and delivering specialty designed instructions; and
f) facilitates coordination with the Department of Economic Security (DES) if the child with a disability may be eligible for services.
6. Requires the Advisory Council to develop a postsecondary education transition planning form for public schools to provide, with the child with a disability's IEP, to each high school student who is a child with a disability that includes:
a) high school graduation competency requirements;
b) course enrollment plans;
c) the expected graduation date and the age of the child with a disability on the expected graduation date; and
d) information about preemployment transition services provided by DES and career and technical education, dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment opportunities.
Public School Requirements for the Statewide Template for IEPs and Transition Services
7. Requires, beginning July 1, 2025, each school district and charter school to use the statewide template for IEPs.
8. Specifies that a school district or charter school is not required to use the statewide template for IEPs until after the contract expires, if the school district or charter school contracts with a third-party provider to develop IEPs before the Advisory Council adopts and the SBE approves a statewide template for IEPs.
9. Prohibits a school district or charter school from entering into a new contract or renewing an existing contract with a third-party provider to develop IEPs after the statewide template for IEPs is adopted and approved.
10. Requires the SBE to adopt standards for transition services provided by public schools.
11. Adds, to a school district governing board's statutory powers and duties, a requirement to provide transition and planning services.
12. Requires each public school that provides instruction to high school students to develop a plan for providing transition services for each student who is a child with a disability before the student completes grade nine or reaches 16 years of age, whichever comes first.
13. Allows transition services to be integrated into and occur simultaneously with a student's coursework and be provided for more than four years, as determined by the child with a disability's IEP team.
14. Requires transition services provided by a public school to include:
a) annual completion of at least one formal transition assessment and one informal assessment to identify appropriate, measurable postsecondary educational goals for the child with a disability;
b) the postsecondary education transition planning form; and
c) any devices or services that are necessary for the child with a disability to communicate in a postsecondary education environment.
15. Requires each public school that provides transition services to:
a) review and revise the transition services as necessary, but at least once during each year of the child with a disability's enrollment in a high school in Arizona; and
b) provide transition services in the least restrictive environment, as determined by the child with disability's IEP team.
16. Requires ADE to:
a) develop guidelines for how public schools may comply with the least restrictive environment requirement and how the least restrictive environment is calculated for the purpose of federal reporting requirements;
b) provide formal transition assessments for students with significant disabilities, as requested by public schools; and
c) develop sample forms that public schools may use to report to the parents of a child with a disability, or to a child with a disability who is at least 18 years of age, the child's progress toward accomplishing the SBE-adopted transition services standards.
Children with Disabilities Graduation
17. Prohibits a child with a disability from being issued a high school diploma without written consent of:
a) the child's parent or guardian; or
b) the child with a disability, if at least 18 years old.
18. Prohibits ADE from imposing a penalty or withholding funding from a school for not issuing a high school diploma to a child with a disability.
19. Applies, to extended-year graduation rates for children with disabilities, the same weight as the adjusted cohort graduation rates, if applicable, for the purposes of a school's or local education agency's annual achievement profile performance indicators.
Web-based Statewide Template for IEPs Study
20. Requires ADE and the Advisory Council to study the feasibility of creating a web-based statewide IEP system, including:
a) the estimated cost of developing and maintaining the system;
b) how long it will take to develop a system, together with a proposed schedule to develop the system and implement the system by Arizona public schools; and
c) statewide IEP systems developed in other states.
21. Requires ADE, by December 31, 2024, to submit a report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Speaker) and the President of the Senate (President) and provide a copy of the report to the Secretary of State (SOS) that contains the findings of the study and recommendations for creating a web-based, statewide IEP system.
22. Repeals the statewide IEP system study on February 1, 2025.
Coordinated Services for Children with Disabilities Study Committee
23. Establishes the Coordinated Services for Children With Disabilities Study Committee (Study Committee) to develop resources for children with disabilities and the families of such children.
24. Requires the Study Committee to consist of:
a) a representative from ADE;
b) a representative from DES's Division of Developmental Disabilities;
c) a representative from the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council;
d) two members of the public who provide special education and related services to children with disabilities, with one appointed by the Speaker and one appointed by the President; and
e) two members of the public who are either a child with a disability or an immediate family member of a child with a disability, with one appointed by the Speaker and one appointed by the President.
25. Requires the Study Committee to:
a) solicit testimony from subject-matter experts, parents of children with disabilities and members of the public about their experiences working with state agencies, public schools and state programs during postsecondary education transitions;
b) coordinate services and benefits;
c) collaborate and develop resources to support children with disabilities and the families of children with disabilities with postsecondary education transitions;
d) review existing intergovernmental agreements relating to services for children with disabilities and, if necessary, recommend changes to guidelines, time frames and expectations for each party to an agreement; and
e) identify the roles and responsibilities of each of the following persons with respect to postsecondary education transition planning, beginning when the child with a disability reaches 14 years of age until the child either receives a high school diploma or exceeds the maximum age to be eligible for a free appropriate public education under state and federal law:
i. students who are children with disabilities;
ii. parents of students who are children with disabilities;
iii. public schools;
iv. DES, including both the vocational rehabilitation services and services provided by the Division of Developmental Disabilities; and
v. private vendors.
26. Allows the Study Committee to hold hearings and take testimony from witnesses who may assist the Study Committee in fulfilling its responsibilities.
27. Determines that Study Committee members are not eligible to receive compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of expenses as authorized by statute.
28. Requires the Study Committee, by December 31, 2024, to submit a preliminary report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the President and Speaker.
29. Requires the Study Committee, by December 31, 2025, to submit a final report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the President and Speaker and provide a copy of the report to the SOS.
30. Repeals the Study Committee on January 1, 2027.
Miscellaneous
31. Defines transition services.
32. Makes technical and conforming changes.
33. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 12, 2024
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