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U.S. Department of Education seal. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 
OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 
REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION 
July 25, 2014 
Dear Colleague: 
On July 22, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 
Act (WIOA), which reauthorizes programs that had been previously authorized under the 
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), as well as programs under the Rehabilitation Act of 
1973 (Rehabilitation Act). The amendments to the Rehabilitation Act, in title IV of WIOA, took 
effect on enactment. The new statutory provisions make significant improvements for 
individuals with disabilities, especially youth with disabilities as they make the transition from 
education to employment, by helping to ensure that these individuals have opportunities to 
acquire the skills and training they need to maximize their potential and enter competitive 
integrated employment. 
WIOA increases the accountability of core WIOA programs, including the vocational 
rehabilitation (VR) program, placing emphasis on results through the establishment of common 
employment outcome measures across the core WIOA programs, including the VR program 
under the Rehabilitation Act; promotes better alignment among Federal job training programs 
through a unified State plan; emphasizes serving youth with disabilities by providing them with 
more opportunities to practice and improve their workplace skills, including participation in 
internships and apprenticeships; promotes youth with disabilities’ participation in postsecondary 
education to enable them to obtain and advance in high-demand jobs and careers, including 
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers; reserves at least 15 percent 
of VR program funds allotted to each State for the provision of pre-employment transition 
services to help youth with disabilities make the transition from secondary school to 
postsecondary education and competitive integrated employment; dedicates supported 
employment funds to help youth with the most significant disabilities receive the supports 
needed, including extended services, to enable them to succeed in employment; and promotes 
employer engagement to expand employment opportunities for all individuals with disabilities. 
These are some of the many changes in WIOA that are designed to strengthen and improve 
employment for individuals with disabilities served by the VR and Supported Employment 
programs. These new provisions provide an exciting opportunity for the Rehabilitation Services 
Administration (RSA) and WIOA programs to work together to implement these improvements 
for the benefit of individuals with disabilities. Your input is critical to the success of WIOA 
implementation, and we will provide specific details on how you can best convey your input in 
this process. In the near future, RSA, in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services, will provide more details regarding implementation plans, including information about 
training resources and opportunities to learn more about the impact of these changes. 
WIOA also transfers the State Independent Living Services (IL, Part B) and Centers for 
Independent Living (IL, Part C) programs, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation 
Research, and the programs under the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 to the Administration 
for Community Living in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). RSA is 
committed to working with our colleagues at HHS to ensure an orderly and timely transfer of 
these programs. To minimize any disruption in grantee operations or service delivery to 
individuals with disabilities who are served by these programs, HHS and ED have decided that 
RSA will continue to administer them until an orderly transfer is completed as soon as 
reasonably possible. 
Thank you very much, and I look forward to working with you as we implement WIOA 
amendments to the Rehabilitation Act. 
Sincerely, 
/s/ 
Janet L. LaBreck 
Commissioner