Subject to appropriation the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall develop and administer a discretionary grant program to provide monies to school districts and state public institutions of higher education partnering together to offer inclusive concurrent enrollment programs for students with disabilities as defined in section 1 of chapter 71B of the General Laws ages 18 to 22, inclusive; provided, that the grant program shall be limited to said students who are considered to have severe disabilities and, in the case of students ages 18 and 19, shall be limited to students with severe disabilities who have been unable to achieve the competency determination necessary to pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam.  The goal of the grant program shall be to meet the transition needs of students with severe disabilities by developing the capacity of school districts, working in partnership with institutes of higher education, to support college success, participation in student life of the college community, competitive employment, and provision of a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.    The department, in consultation with the department of higher education, shall develop guidelines to ensure that the grant program meets this goal and also promotes provision of training and technical assistance for faculty and personnel in state institutions of higher education.

Students with disabilities participating in the grant program shall be offered enrollment in credit and noncredit courses that include nondisabled students, including enrollment in noncredit courses and credit bearing courses in audit status for students who may not meet course prerequisites and requirements, and the partnering school districts will  ensure provision of  supports and services necessary to facilitate a student’s enrollment.

The department, in consultation with the department of higher education, shall develop strategies and procedures to help sustain and replicate inclusive concurrent enrollment programs initiated through the department’s discretionary grant program  including but not limited to: continued funding for partnerships of  institutes of higher education and school districts that have developed inclusive concurrent enrollment programs in order to sustain the existing programs and to retain employment specialists to assist students in meeting competitive employment and other transition-related goals;  and adoption of procedures and funding mechanisms to ensure that new partnerships of institutions of higher education and school districts providing inclusive concurrent enrollment programs fully utilize the models and expertise developed in existing partnerships.  The department shall develop a mechanism to encourage existing and new partnerships to expand capacity to respond to individual parents that request an opportunity for their children to participate in the inclusive concurrent enrollment initiative.  Tuition for courses shall be waived by the institutes of higher education for students enrolled through this grant program. 

The department of elementary and secondary education, in consultation with the department of higher education, shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on education and the joint committee on higher education on the status of the grant program annually on February 15.