Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA)

The Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) was signed into effect in 2014 and the regulations were issued in 2016. WIOA provides for Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre -ETS) to students with disabilities who are eligible or potentially eligible for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services; these begin during the school year that a student turns 14 years old.

There are five activities available under Pre -ETS:

Job exploration counseling

Work-based learning experiences, which may include in -school or community-based opportunities

Counseling on opportunities for enrollment in comprehensive transition or postsecondary educational programs

Workplace readiness training to develop social skills and independent living

Instruction in self -advocacy, including peer mentoring

After exiting school, if a youth with disabilities chooses to be placed in a setting that pays subminimum wage, there must be documentation that they received appropriate Pre -ETS or transition services under IDEA for the placement to be allowed by WIOA.

The Pre -ETS that are provided by DVRS to a student who is eligible for special education need to be coordinated with other transition services provided by the school district and others, since Pre -ETS are not meant to replace the transition services in a student’s IEP, but rather to enhance them. Each local education agency (LEA) needs to collaborate with DVRS to ensure that the provision of Pre -ETS is complementary to the transition services being provided.

The IEP team must also consider the need for consultation from other agencies beginning when the student turns 14, or younger if appropriate.