Summary#
This bill would change the Higher Education Act to improve access to and completion of college for students with disabilities. It creates competitive grants for faculty and staff training, and for campus-wide innovation in accessible course design. Each college or university would be required to set up an Office of Accessibility with duties like telling students about services, providing accommodations information, and adopting clear policies for disability documentation. The bill would form a multi-stakeholder Commission to create guidelines for accessible electronic instructional materials and related technologies. It would fund and set rules for inclusive postsecondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities, require data collection and follow-up on program participants, and create a National Technical Assistance Center and a coordinating center to support programs and share best practices. The bill also adds a requirement that colleges report certain disability-related data to federal postsecondary education data systems and extends authorization for training realtime writers for captioning and reporting services.
What it means for you#
- Students with disabilities: Colleges would be required to have an Office of Accessibility and may offer more training, supports, and inclusive programs. Some programs would lead to a degree, certificate, or recognized credential. The bill requires information about accommodations and campus services to be shared in accessible ways.
- Students with intellectual disabilities and their families: New or expanded inclusive postsecondary programs could be funded. Programs would focus on academics, career development, social inclusion, independent living, and work experiences. Programs must plan for sustainability and collect outcome data.
- Faculty and staff: Grants would pay for professional development on universal design for learning, accommodations, accessible distance education, and advising career pathways for students with disabilities. Institutions awarded grants would share what they learn with other schools.
- Institutions: Colleges may apply for competitive grants, must create an Office of Accessibility, and must submit certain disability data to federal data systems unless doing so would reveal a student’s identity. Institutions running inclusive programs must provide matching funds and collect longitudinal student outcome data.
Expenses#
- The bill authorizes $10,000,000 to carry out the National Technical Assistance Center.
- Grants for inclusive programs for students with intellectual disabilities are limited to $300,000 per single institution and $500,000 per consortium, with each grant awarded for up to 5 years.
- Institutions that receive inclusive program grants must provide matching funds of at least 25 percent of program costs (cash or in-kind).
- The coordinating center for inclusion is authorized "such sums as may be necessary" for fiscal year 2027 and each of the five succeeding fiscal years.
- No publicly available information on the total estimated federal cost of the bill as a whole.
Proponents' View#
No publicly available information.
Opponents' View#
No publicly available information.