California DOR Pre-ETS Referral Process for High School Students

What DOR Pre-ETS Actually Provides

The California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) offers Pre-Employment Transition Services — called "DOR Student Services" on the DOR website — to students with documented disabilities who are between 16 and 21 and enrolled in an educational program. The five core services are job exploration counseling, work-based learning experiences, postsecondary education counseling, workplace readiness training, and self-advocacy instruction.

Pre-ETS is designed for rapid access. Unlike formal Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), Pre-ETS does not require a full eligibility determination or an Individual Plan for Employment. Students can participate through group workshops, career fairs, paid work experiences, and one-on-one counseling sessions — often delivered in partnership with the school district through Transition Partnership Projects or WorkAbility I programs.

Who Can Refer and How

Families do not need to wait for the school district to initiate the referral. You can contact your local DOR office directly. The process starts with form DR 203 (DOR Student Services Plan Request), available on the DOR website. The student must also sign a DR 260 (Consent to Release Information) so the DOR counselor can communicate with parents, the school, and the Regional Center.

The referral should happen at age 16 when formal transition planning activates under California Education Code § 56345(a)(8). In practice, the earlier the better — AB 438 now requires IEP teams to consider transition services when the student enters high school, and requesting a DOR Student Services referral at the first transition IEP sets up vocational exploration years before the student needs to find actual employment.

Ask the district to formally invite a DOR counselor to the transition IEP meeting. Under Education Code § 56341.5(f), districts must invite representatives of agencies likely to provide or pay for transition services.

Pre-ETS vs. Formal Vocational Rehabilitation

Pre-ETS is an introduction to employment readiness. Formal VR is a full-service employment program available to youth with disabilities up to age 24 (no minimum age to apply). Once eligible for VR, a DOR counselor collaborates with the student to develop an Individual Plan for Employment (IPE) within 90 days. The IPE outlines a specific career goal and lists the services the DOR will fund: college tuition, trade school costs, job coaching, assistive technology, interview clothing, or other employment-related supports.

A student can participate in Pre-ETS and apply for formal VR simultaneously. In fact, starting both tracks early creates a safety net — if the DOR implements an Order of Selection that delays formal VR services, the student is still receiving Pre-ETS support in the interim.

The 2026 Order of Selection Complication

As of February 1, 2026, the California DOR reimposed an Order of Selection policy due to funding limitations. Under this policy, individuals with the most significant disabilities are served first. Students with moderate or mild support needs may be placed on an inactive waitlist for formal VR services and receive status updates every 90 days rather than active services.

Pre-ETS is affected differently from VR — students may still access group Pre-ETS activities, but individual vocational counseling and intensive services are prioritized by disability severity. If your child is placed on the waitlist, request a written notice explaining their priority category and estimated wait time. And critically, check whether the Regional Center's "Regional Center-funded Job Development" option (launched January 1, 2025) can provide vocational support while the DOR waitlist resolves — this service legally allows Regional Centers to fund job coaching even when the DOR is technically the primary vocational agency.

Documenting the Referral in the IEP

The DOR referral should be written into the IEP as a transition service with a specific timeline: "By [date], the parent/student will submit form DR 203 to the local DOR office." If the district offers to handle the referral, request a copy of the submitted paperwork and confirmation that the DOR received it. Referrals that go through the district sometimes stall in administrative channels without anyone following up.

The California IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide includes pre-filled referral tracking sheets for both Pre-ETS and formal VR, plus template language for the IEP transition services section that connects DOR services to your child's postsecondary employment goals.

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