This Executive Order directs state agencies to coordinate efforts to increase competitive integrated employment for Tennesseans with disabilities, and convenes an Employment First Task Force to identify barriers and best practices for increasing competitive integrated employment opportunities in the state.
This Executive Order establishes the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities, which includes a representative from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services. The Council is tasked with undertaking advocacy, capacity building and systemic change activities to support Tennesseans with developmental disabilities.
Topic(s): Systems Coordination
This bill furthers the policy of the state to encourage and assist individuals with severe disabilities to achieve maximum personal independence through useful, productive and gainful employment by assuring expanded competitive integrated employment opportunities. In addition, it creates a Committee for Providing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Severe Disabilities, which provides oversight to a central nonprofit agency in employing individuals with severe disabilities.
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This bill requires the State Board of Education to adopt an alternate academic diploma for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are assessed with the state's alternate assessment, and requires the diploma to be aligned with the requirements for a regular high school diploma.
Topic(s): School-Based Prep
This bill creates an interagency committee for providing competitive integrated employment for individuals with severe disabilities, which includes a parent of a child with disabilities.
This bill:
1. Requires each student's IEP to include age-appropriate transition assessments related to education, training and employment for students age 14 and older;
2. Requires each student's IEP to include pre-vocational assessments for students in kindergarten through grade six;
3. Authorizes the Tennessee School for the Blind to implement programs and install facilities for career and technical education; and
4. Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to establish a work training program for adults who are blind or visually impaired.
This program enables eligible individuals with disabilities to save money in a tax-exempt account that may be used for qualified disability expenses while keeping their eligibility for federally-funded, means-tested public benefits. Eligible expenses include education, employment training and support, and assistive technology.
Operating Entity: Tennessee Department of Treasury
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program enables individuals with disabilities, service providers and others to learn about, access, and acquire assistive technology needed for education, employment, and community living. Services include device demonstrations, reutilization, loans, and financing.
Operating Entity: Tennessee Department of Human Services, Tennessee Technology Access Program (TTAP)
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
The Business Enterprise Program helps people who are blind become food service or vending operators.
Operating Entity: Tennessee Department of Human Services, Division of Rehabilitation Services
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
CAP helps individuals who experience problems when applying for or receiving vocational rehabilitation or independent living services. This includes advising and informing individuals of their rights and providing advocacy services.
Operating Entity: Disability Law and Advocacy Center
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program provides services to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities become employed and live independently. It follows an integrated, home and community-based services program, aligning incentives toward promoting and supporting integrated, competitive employment and independent living.
Operating Entity: Tennessee Division of TennCare
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
This program provides a range of independent living services to people with disabilities at Centers for Independent Living across the state. Services include help connecting to local services, assistance with job searches, local transit skills training, assistive technology help, peer mentoring support, assistance with school-to-career transitions, self-advocacy help, and more.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Job Club is a safe place where young adults and adults with disabilities who are working or want to work come together to share their experiences and problem solve together. Job Club topics have included skill identification, turning hobbies into paid work, resume writing, dressing for success, interview skills, working with difficult bosses, customer and co-workers, and more.
Operating Entity: The Arc of Tennessee
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program supports Parent Training and Information Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers in 12 southern states. Services include one-to-one consultations, trainings and webinars, peer-to-peer mentoring, site visits, non-profit management tools, and more.
Operating Entity: Parent to Parent of Georgia
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
PFTN is a grassroots membership disability rights group led by self-advocates with the goal of empowering people with disabilities to have voices in addressing issues of equality that affect them. PFTN teaches youth and adults with disabilities about their legal rights and responsibilities, how to become effective self-advocates, and the power of self-determination.
Operating Entity: The Arc of Tennessee
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Youth Development & Leadership
These programs offer students with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to take college classes, engage in career development and independent living activities, and participate in the social life of a college campus.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
The Department of Education offers three courses to better prepare students with disabilities to enter into postsecondary education or training, employment, community involvement, and independent living, with an emphasis on understanding how to navigate postsecondary service systems. The courses are Introduction to Self-Determination, Focus on Adulthood, and Planning for Postsecondary.
Operating Entity: Tennessee Department of Education
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): School-Based Prep, Youth Development & Leadership
Project SEARCH is a one-year transition-to-work program for students with significant disabilities that includes classroom instruction, career exploration, and internship rotations. It is a collaboration between local businesses, state agencies, local school systems, and other entities, and is offered at several locations.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This program trains and upskills vocational rehabilitation counselors, including counselors who specifically work with deaf individuals.
Operating Entity: University of Tennessee
Entity Type: College / University
S-TEC tracks employment activities and keep providers informed and trained in Tennessee employment policies and practices, in order to increase the employment rate of people served by the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD). The group receives a monthly update from DIDD, Vocational Rehabilitation, TennCare, the TennesseeWorks Partnership, and at least one TN employment provider.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This program helps farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural workers with disabilities attain gainful employment in production agriculture or a related occupation, access appropriate assistive technology needed for work and daily living activities, and more.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This program provides consultation and mentoring to intellectual and developmental disability providers around the state as they transition people with disabilities from sheltered workshops to competitive integrated employment opportunities in the community.
Operating Entity: Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD)
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
This program enables students with disabilities to choose and engage in areas of study that all have an emphasis on work-based learning and community integration through volunteer, practicum, and internship opportunities with business and industry. Upon completion of all courses, students receive a certificate of completion and have the opportunity to obtain national certifications and licenses that are industry-recognized, portable, and/or stackable.
Operating Entity: Tennessee Department of Human Services, Division of Rehabilitation Services
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This program provides vocational rehabilitation services to eligible and potentially eligible high school students with disabilities who are interested in employment after leaving high school. The goal is a smooth, seamless transition from high school to post-high school career development and/or employment.
Operating Entity: Tennessee Department of Human Services, Division of Rehabilitation Services
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
This program helps individuals with disabilities who are receiving Social Security Disability benefits make informed choices about work and make a successful transition to self-sufficiency.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This webpage provides hotlines to call to discuss mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and links to several other pages and documents addressing COVID's impact on mental health.
Operating Entity: Tennessee Department of Health
Topic(s): Mental Health
The purpose of the Postsecondary Transition Toolkit is to assist districts and schools in planning, executing, and monitoring key actions and metrics to ensure students stay on track for postsecondary success during this extraordinary time. For clarity and coherence, the initial draft will focus on three cohorts: recent 2020 graduates, rising seniors, and rising juniors. The guidance in this document is built on the assumption that it will be necessary for districts and schools to shift numerous services from traditional in person courses to a virtual distance learning format or hybrid approach at the beginning of the school year or in response to a potential future closure.
Operating Entity: Tennessee Department of Education
Topic(s): Transition
The Tennessee Department of Education responded to questions that were collected from superintendents and special education supervisors regarding IEPs and other special education services. The information provided pertains to the guidelines for virtual IEP meetings, the guidelines for providing extended school year services, and adjustments made to IEP plans in response to COVID-19,
Operating Entity: Tennessee Department of Education
Topic(s): IEP