Texas Administrative Code › Title 40 - SOCIAL SERVICES AND ASSISTANCE › Part 20 - TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION › Chapter 856 - VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES › Subchapter B - ELIGIBILITY AND PROVISION OF SERVICES › Section 856.45 - Vocational and Other Training Services

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
				  The Vocational Rehabilitation Division (VRD) purchases vocational and other
				  training services for customers who require additional knowledge or skills to
				  enter employment consistent with their aptitudes and ability, and compatible
				  with their physical or mental impairments.
(b) VRD purchases vocational and other
				  training services through an appropriate facility. These facilities include
				  accredited colleges and universities, certified public or private businesses,
				  technical and vocational schools, on-the-job training, correspondence course
				  training, tutorial training, and community rehabilitation program
				  training.
(c) Academic training in
				  institutions of higher education (universities, colleges, community or junior
				  colleges, vocational schools, technical institutes, or hospital schools of
				  nursing) is subject to the following:
(1)
				  Academic training in proprietary vocational schools and technical institutes
				  must be provided only in schools that are licensed or certified by the Agency
				  on the Licensed Career Schools and Colleges Directory website, the Eligible
				  Training Provider System website, or another regulatory agency, before
				  including the training on the individualized plan for employment.
(2) No vocational rehabilitation (VR) funds
				  may be used to pay for academic training unless VRD and the customer have made
				  maximum efforts to secure grant assistance in whole or in part from other
				  sources to pay for the training.
(3) The PELL grant, like any other comparable
				  services and benefits, must be applied to the educational process before the
				  expenditure of VRD funds for services under this section. Services must not be
				  denied pending receipt of a PELL grant, but must be contingent upon the
				  customer's making application if eligible.
(4) Academic training must be provided
				  through public, tax-supported colleges and universities in Texas unless:
(A) a specific curriculum related to the
				  customer's academic major is not available at a Texas public
				  institution;
(B) academic training
				  elsewhere is determined to be more economical; or
(C) academic training elsewhere provides
				  specialized services needed by the customer.
(5) If the customer chooses to obtain
				  academic training at a private college or university in Texas or at a college
				  or university outside Texas and the provisions in paragraph (4) of this
				  subsection do not apply, academic support must be limited to that which the
				  customer would receive if he or she attended a state-supported college or
				  university in Texas, unless the customer is a recipient of Social Security
				  benefits, either Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security
				  Disability Insurance (SSDI).
(6) A
				  customer who is blind, does not meet the residency requirements of a particular
				  institution, and is not eligible for tuition exemption under Texas Education
				  Code, §
											54.364 may receive VRD
				  tuition assistance based on the customer's economic need. Unless the customer
				  is a recipient of Social Security benefits, either SSI or SSDI, payments must
				  not exceed the tuition paid for a customer who does meet the residency
				  requirements.
(7) Tuition and fee
				  exemption is an exemption from payment of tuition and/or required fees normally
				  charged by a state-supported college or university. Required fees include
				  student services, building use, health center use, lab fees, and property
				  deposits not reimbursable to the student. Required fees do not include optional
				  fees.
(8) Any equipment purchased
				  for the customer during academic training must be needed by the customer to
				  help maintain academic success so that the customer can meet the employment
				  outcome.
(9) Once admitted to
				  academic training:
(A) the customer must
				  maintain and complete a full-time course load as defined by the school or
				  educational institution. This requirement may be waived if:
(i) the customer is a graduating
				  senior;
(ii) the customer is an
				  incoming freshman (first two semesters or quarters);
(iii) the customer is a returning adult
				  (first academic year only);
(iv)
				  the customer is in summer school; or
(v) other extenuating circumstances prevent
				  the customer from participating in a full-time course load;
				  and
(B) the customer is
				  required to meet with the VR counselor at least once each semester, to submit
				  add or drop slips as changes occur, and to provide grade slips or transcripts
				  to the VR counselor at the end of each semester.