Texas Administrative Code › Title 40 - SOCIAL SERVICES AND ASSISTANCE › Part 2 - DEPARTMENT OF ASSISTIVE AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES › Chapter 106 - DIVISION FOR BLIND SERVICES › Subchapter B - VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION PROGRAM › Division 3 - PROVISION OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES › Section 106.413 - Vocational and Other Training Services

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
					 All equipment purchased by DBS for training remains the property of
					 DBS.
(b) 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 vocational schools and technical institutes must be
					 provided only in schools that are certified by the State of Texas.
(2) No vocational rehabilitation funds may be
					 used to pay for academic training unless DBS and the consumer have made maximum
					 efforts to secure grant assistance in whole or in part from other sources to
					 pay for the training.
(3) The
					 consumer must contact the college or university and apply for any available
					 financial aid.
(4) The PELL grant,
					 like any other comparable services and benefits, must be applied to the
					 educational process before the expenditure of DBS funds for services under this
					 section. Services must not be denied pending receipt of a PELL grant, but must
					 be contingent upon the consumer's making application if eligible.
(5) Academic training must be provided
					 through public, tax-supported colleges and universities in Texas unless:
(A) a specific curriculum related to the
					 consumer'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 consumer, such as services provided at
					 Gallaudet University for students who are deaf.
(6) If the consumer chooses to obtain
					 academic training at a private university or outside Texas and the provisions
					 in paragraph (5) of this subsection do not apply, academic support must be
					 limited to that which the consumer would receive if he or she attended a
					 state-supported college or university in Texas.
(7) A consumer who is blind, does not meet
					 the residency requirements of a particular institution, and is not eligible for
					 tuition exemption under the Education Code, §
												54.364 may
					 receive tuition assistance from DBS based on economic need of the consumer, but
					 the payments must not exceed the tuition paid for a student who does meet the
					 residency requirements.
(8) 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, lab fees, and property
					 deposits not reimbursable to the student. Required fees do not include optional
					 fees.
(9) Any equipment purchased
					 for the consumer during academic training must be needed by the consumer to
					 help maintain academic success so the vocational goal can be met.
(10) Academic training does not include
					 continuing education required for maintaining certification in a field in which
					 the consumer is already gainfully employed.
(11) Once admitted to academic training:
(A) the consumer must maintain and complete a
					 full-time course load as defined by the college or university. This requirement
					 may be waived if:
(i) the consumer is a
					 graduating senior;
(ii) the
					 consumer is an incoming freshman (first two semesters or quarters);
(iii) the consumer is a returning adult
					 (first academic year only);
(iv)
					 the consumer is in summer school; or
(v) other extenuating circumstances prevent
					 the consumer from participating in a full-time course load; and
(B) the consumer is required to
					 meet with the counselor at least once each semester, to submit add or drop
					 slips as changes occur, and to provide grade slips or transcripts to the
					 counselor at the end of each semester.