Texas Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS)

Pre-Employment Transition Services are one of the few programs where Texas families can access real vocational support before their child leaves school — starting as early as age 14. The problem is that most families don't hear about Pre-ETS until their child is 17 or 18, and by then they've missed years of available programming.

What Pre-ETS Actually Covers

Pre-ETS is a federal program delivered in Texas through the Texas Workforce Commission Vocational Rehabilitation Services (TWC-VRS). It's designed for students with disabilities ages 14 through 22 who are enrolled in an educational program — which includes traditional public school, charter schools, and 18+ transition programs.

The five required Pre-ETS activities are:

• Job exploration counseling — career interest assessments, labor market information, understanding workplace expectations
• Work-based learning experiences — paid and unpaid internships, job shadowing, workplace tours, and the Summer Earn and Learn (SEAL) program that provides paid summer employment
• Counseling on postsecondary education — guidance on community college programs, technical training, university disability services, and financial aid
• Workplace readiness training — social skills for the job, time management, communication, following multi-step directions
• Self-advocacy instruction — understanding disability rights, requesting accommodations, communicating needs to employers and service providers

These aren't classroom simulations. Pre-ETS activities happen in real community settings — actual workplaces, actual college campuses, actual public transit systems.

How to Access Pre-ETS

There are two entry points, and the distinction matters.

School-coordinated Pre-ETS can be delivered through coordination between the school and TWC-VRS. Schools can bring Pre-ETS activities onto campus for groups of eligible students. The school's Transition and Employment Designee (TED) — a staff member every Texas school district must designate — is the primary coordination point.

Individualized Pre-ETS requires registering with TWC-VRS through the "Start My VR" self-referral portal. This opens a case with a VR counselor who can design a customized service plan that matches the student's specific employment goals, disability-related barriers, and accommodation needs.

The practical difference: group Pre-ETS gives your child exposure to career exploration and work readiness. Individualized Pre-ETS gives them a personal VR counselor, community-based employment supports, and a direct pipeline into adult VR services after they leave school.

The Age-14 Advantage

Texas law requires transition planning in the IEP to begin by the first ARD meeting for an IEP that will be in effect when the student turns 14 — two years earlier than the federal minimum of 16. This early start is intentional. It creates a window to get Pre-ETS activities written into the IEP's transition services section, establish a relationship with TWC-VRS, and begin building the student's employment portfolio before they're under pressure to graduate.

Families who start the VR referral at 14 or 15 get years of work-based learning experience. Families who wait until senior year often find that VR intake, eligibility determination, and Individualized Plan for Employment development eat up the remaining school time — and the student exits with a plan on paper but no actual work experience.

How Pre-ETS Connects to Adult VR Services

Pre-ETS is the front door to a much larger system. Once a student has an open VR case through TWC-VRS, that relationship doesn't end at graduation. Adult VR services — job placement assistance, supported employment, assistive technology, on-the-job training — continue as long as the individual remains eligible and has an active Individualized Plan for Employment.

This continuity is critical. When school services end at age 22 (or earlier if the student graduates), TWC-VRS can be the one system already in place and operational. The alternative — trying to start the VR process from scratch after school exit while simultaneously losing all other structured support — is the scenario that produces the services cliff.

At the ARD meeting where transition is first discussed, the school must provide the Texas Transition and Employment Guide and facilitate contact with external agencies including TWC-VRS. If that hasn't happened, request it explicitly. The TED is required to assist with this coordination.

Making Pre-ETS Part of the Larger Plan

Pre-ETS is one piece of a transition plan that also includes waiver registration with the local LIDDA, SSI application at age 18, legal decision-making arrangements, and graduation pathway selection. Each of these tracks has its own timeline, and they need to run in parallel — not sequentially.

The Texas IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide maps the Pre-ETS and VR referral process against every other transition milestone, with the specific portals, forms, and deadlines. It includes a VR referral tracker designed for families managing multiple agency relationships at once.

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