§ 326.30 - What priorities are considered for support by the Secretary under this part?

The Secretary may select annually one or more of the following priority areas for funding:

(a) Transition strategies and techniques. This priority supports research projects designed to develop strategies and techniques for transition to competitive or supported employment through improvements in independent living skills, secondary and postsecondary education, vocational preparation, and availability of work opportunities.

(b) Service demonstration models. This priority supports projects that develop and establish exemplary models for services and individualized education programs, including independent living vocational training and job placement, that result directly in paid employment in regular work settings for youth with disabilities leaving school, or that enhance the effectiveness of secondary and postsecondary services which lead to employment or independent living.

(c) Demographic studies. This priority supports demographic studies of the numbers, locations, age levels, types and degrees of disabilities of youth with disabilities, and anticipated transition and adult services needed by those youth to obtain competitive or supported employment.

(d) Service delivery research projects. This priority supports research projects, including field testing and evaluation of innovative service approaches to service delivery models or components to assist youth with disabilities in secondary school and in other services that assist transition to employment. These service delivery approaches can be replicated and disseminated.

(e) Cooperative models for planning and developing transitional services. This priority supports projects designed to plan and develop cooperative models for activities among State or local educational agencies, developmental disabilities councils, and adult service agencies, including vocational rehabilitation, mental health, mental retardation, and public employment agencies, and private employers, which will facilitate effective planning for services to meet the employment needs of youth with disabilities as they leave school.

(f) Procedures for evaluation of secondary education, vocational training, and placement services. This priority supports projects that will develop appropriate procedures for evaluating secondary special education, vocational training, placement, and other transitional services that lead to employment for youth with disabilities.

(g) Program evaluation. This priority supports projects that will evaluate the effectiveness of the program carried out under this part to assist youth with disabilities in the transition from secondary school to postsecondary environments such as competitive or supported employment.

(h) Research projects in secondary education. This priority supports research projects which focus on secondary level programs for youth with disabilities. These projects will have as their major objective the development and improvement of replicable programs and will focus on the evaluation of the program or the components of the program, such as curricula design, program organization, employer involvement, and instructional methods.

(i) Drop out studies. This priority supports studies which provide information on the numbers, age levels, types of disabilities and reasons why some youth with disabilities remain to complete school programs while others drop out of school.

(j) Curriculum development. This priority supports the development of curriculum and instructional techniques in special education and related services that will improve students with disabilities acquisition of the skills necessary for transition to adult life and services.

(k) Physical education and therapeutic recreation. This priority supports specially designed or adapted physical educational and therapeutic recreation programs to facilitate the full participation of youth with disabilities in community programs.

(l) Assistive technology. This priority supports the development and dissemination of exemplary programs and practices that meet the unique needs of students who utilize assistive technology devices and services as these students make the transition to postsecondary education, vocational training, competitive employment (including supported employment), and continuing education or adult services.