H97 - 2015 Appropriations Act, Sec. 11.19: Education Opportunities for Students with Disabilities (SL 2015-241)

Session Year 2015

Overview: Sec. 11.19 of S.L. 2015-241 directs the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services (Division) in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), with the assistance of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and Division of Social Services in DHHS, the Department of Public Instruction, The University of North Carolina, and the North Carolina Community College System, and in consultation with the North Carolina Postsecondary Education Alliance, community stakeholders, and other interested parties, to do the following:

  • Assess gaps and system needs to support transitions of people with disabilities to adulthood.
  • Develop a program and fiscal policies to expand and sustain postsecondary education and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
  • Plan and implement approaches to public awareness about postsecondary education and employment for people with disabilities.
  • Plan and implement joint policies and common data indicators for tracking the outcomes of people with disabilities after leaving high school.
  • Consider options for technology to link agency databases.

The Division must report on the implementation of this section to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee (Ed Oversight Committee) and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services (HHS Oversight Committee) by November 15, 2015, and annually thereafter through November 15, 2017.

The State Education Assistance Authority (SEAA) must study strategies for ensuring that the State system of financial assistance for postsecondary education is fully available to assist qualified students with disabilities who are enrolled in certificate-based, approved university programs developed for them and report to the Ed Oversight Committee and the HHS Oversight Committee by March 15, 2016, on the results of this study.

This section became effective July 1, 2015.

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