I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10080 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve accessibility to, 

and completion of, postsecondary education for students, including students with disabilities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 1, 2024 

Mr. DESAULNIER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve 

accessibility to, and completion of, postsecondary education for students, including students with disabilities, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Improving Access to Higher Education Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—PROGRAMS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES 

WITH A QUALITY HIGHER EDUCATION 

Sec. 101. Supporting postsecondary faculty, staff, and administrators in providing accessible education. 

Sec. 102. Office of Accessibility. 

Sec. 103. Accessible instructional materials and technology. 

Sec. 104. Postsecondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities. 

Sec. 105. National Technical Assistance Center and National Coordinating 

Center for Inclusion of Students with Intellectual Disabilities. 

Sec. 106. Definitions. 

TITLE II—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 201. Submission of data with respect to students with disabilities. 

Sec. 202. Training for realtime writers to provide closed captioning and court 

reporting services. 

Sec. 203. Perfecting amendment. 

1 TITLE I—PROGRAMS TO PRO2 VIDE STUDENTS WITH DIS3 ABILITIES WITH A QUALITY 

4 HIGHER EDUCATION 

5 SEC. 101. SUPPORTING POSTSECONDARY FACULTY, STAFF, 

6 AND ADMINISTRATORS IN PROVIDING ACCES7 SIBLE EDUCATION. 

8 (a) GRANTS.—Section 762 of the Higher Education 

9 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1140b) is amended to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 762. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

12 ‘‘(a) COMPETITIVE GRANTS AUTHORIZED TO SUP13 PORT POSTSECONDARY FACULTY, STAFF, AND ADMINIS14 TRATORS IN PROVIDING AN ACCESSIBLE EDUCATION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro16 priated under section 765C, the Secretary shall 

17 award grants, on a competitive basis, to institutions 


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1 of higher education to enable the institutions to 

2 carry out the activities under subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(2) AWARDS FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP4 MENT AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Not less than 

5 5 grants shall be awarded to institutions of higher 

6 education that provide professional development and 

7 technical assistance in order to improve access to, 

8 and completion of, postsecondary education for stu9 dents, including students with disabilities. 

10 ‘‘(b) DURATION; ACTIVITIES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) DURATION.—A grant under this section 

12 shall be awarded for a period of 5 years. 

13 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—A grant 

14 awarded under this section shall be used to carry 

15 out one or more of the following activities: 

16 ‘‘(A) TEACHING METHODS AND STRATE17 GIES.—The development and implementation of 

18 training to provide innovative, effective, and evi19 dence-based teaching methods and strategies, 

20 consistent with the principles of universal de21 sign for learning, to provide postsecondary fac22 ulty, staff, and administrators with the skills 

23 and supports necessary to teach and meet the 

24 academic and programmatic needs of students 

25 (including students with disabilities) in order to 


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1 improve the retention of such students in, and 

2 the completion by such students of, postsec3 ondary education. Such methods and strategies 

4 may include in-service training, professional de5 velopment, customized and general technical as6 sistance, workshops, summer institutes, dis7 tance learning, and training in the use of assist8 ive and educational technology. 

9 ‘‘(B) IMPLEMENTING ACCOMMODATIONS.— 

10 The development and implementation of train11 ing to provide postsecondary faculty, staff, and 

12 administrators methods and strategies of pro13 viding appropriate accommodations consistent 

14 with the principles of universal design (as de15 fined in section 103) for learning for students 

16 with disabilities, including descriptions of legal 

17 obligations of the institution of higher edu18 cation to provide such accommodations. 

19 ‘‘(C) EFFECTIVE TRANSITION PRAC20 TICES.—The development and implementation 

21 of innovative, effective, and evidence-based 

22 teaching methods and strategies to provide 

23 postsecondary faculty, staff, and administrators 

24 with the skills and supports necessary to ensure 

25 the successful and smooth transition of stuVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:26 Nov 04, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10080.IH H10080

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1 dents with disabilities from secondary school to 

2 postsecondary education. The teaching methods 

3 and strategies may include supporting students 

4 in the development of self-advocacy skills to im5 prove transition to, and completion of, postsec6 ondary education. 

7 ‘‘(D) DISTANCE LEARNING.—The develop8 ment and implementation of training to provide 

9 innovative, effective, and evidence-based teach10 ing methods and strategies to enable postsec11 ondary faculty, staff, and administrators to pro12 vide accessible distance education programs or 

13 classes that would enhance the access of stu14 dents (including students with disabilities) to 

15 postsecondary education, including the use of 

16 accessible curricula and electronic communica17 tion for instruction and advising that meet the 

18 requirements of section 508 of the Rehabilita19 tion Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d). 

20 ‘‘(E) CAREER PATHWAY GUIDANCE.—The 

21 development and implementation of effective 

22 and evidence-based teaching methods and strat23 egies to provide postsecondary faculty, staff, 

24 and administrators with the ability to advise 

25 students with disabilities with respect to their 


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1 chosen career pathway, which shall include at 

2 least one of the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) Supporting internships, appren4 ticeships registered under the Act of Au5 gust 16, 1937 (commonly known as the 

6 ‘National Apprenticeship Act’; 50 Stat. 

7 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), or 

8 work-based learning opportunities. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Counseling on coursework to 

10 meet the degree, certificate, or recognized 

11 postsecondary credential appropriate for 

12 the field chosen. 

13 ‘‘(iii) Developing self-advocacy skills 

14 to advocate for appropriate accommoda15 tions once in the workplace. 

16 ‘‘(iv) Support with selecting a career 

17 pathway that leads to competitive, inte18 grated employment. 

19 ‘‘(3) MANDATORY EVALUATION AND DISSEMI20 NATION.—An institution of higher education award21 ed a grant under this section shall evaluate and dis22 seminate to other institutions of higher education 

23 the information obtained through the activities de24 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of para25 graph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(c) CONSIDERATIONS IN MAKING AWARDS.—In 

2 awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall 

3 consider the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—Providing 

5 an equitable geographic distribution of such awards. 

6 ‘‘(2) RURAL AND URBAN AREAS.—Distributing 

7 such awards to urban and rural areas. 

8 ‘‘(3) RANGE AND TYPE OF INSTITUTION.—En9 suring that the activities to be assisted are developed 

10 for a range of types and sizes of institutions of high11 er education. 

12 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec15 retary shall prepare and submit to the authorizing 

16 committees, and make available to the public, a re17 port on all projects awarded grants under this part, 

18 including a review of the activities and program per19 formance of such projects based on existing informa20 tion as of the date of the report. 

21 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT REPORT.—Not later than 

22 five years after the date of the first award of a grant 

23 under this section after the date of the Improving 

24 Access to Higher Education Act, the Secretary shall 


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1 prepare and submit to the authorizing committees, 

2 and make available to the public, a report that— 

3 ‘‘(A) reviews the activities and program 

4 performance of the projects authorized under 

5 subsection (b); and 

6 ‘‘(B) provides guidance and recommenda7 tions on how effective projects can be rep8 licated.’’. 

9 (b) APPLICATIONS.—Section 763 of the Higher Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1140c) is amended to read 

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 763. APPLICATIONS. 

13 ‘‘Each institution of higher education desiring to re14 ceive a grant under section 762 shall submit an applica15 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

16 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 

17 require. Each application shall include— 

18 ‘‘(1) a description of the activities authorized 

19 under section 762(b) that the institution proposes to 

20 carry out, and how such institution plans to conduct 

21 such activities in order to further the purposes of 

22 this subpart; 

23 ‘‘(2) a description of how the institution con24 sulted with a broad range of people, including indi25 viduals with expertise in disability supports or speVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:26 Nov 04, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10080.IH H10080

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1 cial education, within the institution to develop ac2 tivities for which assistance is sought; 

3 ‘‘(3) a description of how the institution will co4 ordinate and collaborate with the office of accessi5 bility; and 

6 ‘‘(4) a description of the extent to which the in7 stitution will work to replicate the research-based 

8 and best practices of institutions of higher education 

9 with demonstrated effectiveness in serving students 

10 with disabilities.’’. 

11 SEC. 102. OFFICE OF ACCESSIBILITY. 

12 Subpart 1 of part D of title VII of the Higher Edu13 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1140a et seq.) is amend14 ed— 

15 (1) by redesignating section 765 as section 

16 765C; 

17 (2) by inserting after section 764 the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 765A. OFFICE OF ACCESSIBILITY. 

19 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each institution of higher 

20 education shall establish an office of accessibility to de21 velop and implement policies to support students who 

22 enter postsecondary education with disabilities and stu23 dents who acquire a disability while enrolled in an institu24 tion of higher education. 

25 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—Each office of accessibility shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) inform students, during student orienta2 tion, about services provided at the institution of 

3 higher education, and continually update such infor4 mation through the accessibility office’s website and 

5 other communications to improve accessibility of 

6 such services; 

7 ‘‘(2) provide information to students regarding 

8 accommodations and modifications provided by the 

9 institution of higher education with respect to in10 ternships, practicums, work-based learning, appren11 ticeships registered under the Act of August 16, 

12 1937 (commonly known as the ‘National Apprentice13 ship Act’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 

14 et seq.), or other work-related environments that— 

15 ‘‘(A) the student may engage in through 

16 courses; or 

17 ‘‘(B) are necessary for completion of a de18 gree, certificate, or recognized postsecondary 

19 credential; 

20 ‘‘(3) provide information to students regarding 

21 their legal rights under the Americans with Disabil22 ities Act (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and section 504 

23 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794); and 


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1 ‘‘(4) in order to provide appropriate accom2 modations to students with disabilities, carry out the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(A) Adopt policies that, at a minimum, 

5 make any of the following documentation sub6 mitted by an individual sufficient to establish 

7 that such individual is an individual with a dis8 ability: 

9 ‘‘(i) Documentation that the indi10 vidual has had an individualized education 

11 program (IEP) in accordance with section 

12 614(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities 

13 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(d)), in14 cluding an IEP that may not be current on 

15 the date of the determination that the indi16 vidual has a disability. The office of acces17 sibility may ask for additional documenta18 tion from an individual who had an IEP 

19 but who was subsequently evaluated and 

20 determined to be ineligible for services 

21 under the Individuals with Disabilities 

22 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), 

23 including an individual determined to be 

24 ineligible during elementary school. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Documentation describing serv2 ices or accommodations provided to the in3 dividual pursuant to section 504 of the Re4 habilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) 

5 (commonly referred to as a ‘Section 504 

6 plan’). 

7 ‘‘(iii) A plan or record of service for 

8 the individual from a private school, a local 

9 educational agency, a State educational 

10 agency, or an institution of higher edu11 cation provided in accordance with the 

12 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

13 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 

14 ‘‘(iv) A record or evaluation from a 

15 relevant licensed professional finding that 

16 the individual has a disability. 

17 ‘‘(v) A plan or record of disability 

18 from another institution of higher edu19 cation. 

20 ‘‘(vi) Documentation of a disability 

21 due to service in the uniformed services, as 

22 defined in section 484C(a). 

23 ‘‘(B) Adopt policies that are transparent 

24 and explicit regarding the process by which the 


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1 institution determines eligibility for accom2 modations. 

3 ‘‘(C) Disseminate the information de4 scribed in subparagraph (B) to students, par5 ents, and faculty— 

6 ‘‘(i) in an accessible format; 

7 ‘‘(ii) during student orientation; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) by making such information 

9 readily available on a public website of the 

10 institution. 

11 ‘‘(D) Provide accommodations to students 

12 with mental health disabilities. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 765B. COMPETITIVE GRANT FOR INNOVATION AND 

14 ACCESSIBILITY. 

15 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro17 priated under section 765C, the Secretary may 

18 award grants on a competitive basis to institutions 

19 of higher education to enable the institutions to 

20 carry out the activities described under subsection 

21 (c). 

22 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—A grant under this section 

23 shall be awarded for a period of 5 years. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION IN MAKING AWARDS.—In 

2 awarding grants under this section, the Secretary 

3 shall consider the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) Providing an equitable geographic 

5 distribution of such awards. 

6 ‘‘(B) Ensuring that the activities to be as7 sisted are developed for a range of types and 

8 sizes of institutions of higher education. 

9 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—Each institution of higher edu10 cation desiring to receive a grant under this section shall 

11 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 

12 such manner, and accompanied by such information as the 

13 Secretary may require. Each application shall include— 

14 ‘‘(1) a description of how the institution will 

15 carry out the activities under subsection (c); 

16 ‘‘(2) a description of the consultation the insti17 tution has had with a broad range of people within 

18 the institution, including individuals with expertise 

19 in disability supports or special education, in devel20 oping the information under paragraph (1); 

21 ‘‘(3) a plan for the sustainability of the pro22 gram after the end of the grant period; and 

23 ‘‘(4) a written business plan for revenue and ex24 penditures to be provided to the Department under 

25 subsection (d). 


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1 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES.—A grant awarded under this sec2 tion shall be used to— 

3 ‘‘(1) develop and implement across the institu4 tion of higher education, a universal design (as de5 fined in section 103) for learning framework for 

6 course design and instructional materials to improve 

7 campus-wide accessibility to instruction, materials, 

8 and the learning environment; or 

9 ‘‘(2) develop or improve distance education 

10 courses consistent with the principles of universal 

11 design for learning to improve accessibility of in12 struction and materials. 

13 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) GRANT RECIPIENT REPORTS.—An institu15 tion of higher education awarded a grant under this 

16 section shall evaluate and disseminate to other insti17 tutions of higher education, the information obtained 

18 through the activities described in subsection (c). 

19 ‘‘(2) INITIAL REPORT BY SECRETARY.—Not 

20 later than one year after the date of the enactment 

21 of this section, the Secretary shall prepare and sub22 mit to the authorizing committees, and make avail23 able to the public, a report on all projects awarded 

24 grants under this section, including a review of the 

25 activities and program performance of such projects 


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1 based on existing information as of the date of the 

2 report. 

3 ‘‘(3) FINAL REPORT BY SECRETARY.—Not later 

4 than 6 years after the date of the first award of a 

5 grant under this section, the Secretary shall prepare 

6 and submit to the authorizing committees, and make 

7 available to the public, a report that— 

8 ‘‘(A) reviews the activities and program 

9 performance of the projects authorized under 

10 this section; and 

11 ‘‘(B) provides guidance and recommenda12 tions on how effective projects can be rep13 licated.’’; and 

14 (3) by amending section 765C, as so redesig15 nated, by striking ‘‘2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2025’’. 

16 SEC. 103. ACCESSIBLE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND 

17 TECHNOLOGY. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.—The Speaker 

19 of the House of Representatives, the President pro tem20 pore of the Senate, and the Secretary of Education shall 

21 establish an independent commission (in this section re22 ferred to as the ‘‘Commission’’), comprised of key stake23 holders, to develop guidelines for accessible postsecondary 

24 electronic instructional materials and related technologies 

25 in order— 


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1 (1) to ensure students with disabilities are af2 forded the same educational benefits provided to stu3 dents without disabilities through the use of elec4 tronic instructional materials and related tech5 nologies; 

6 (2) to improve the selection and use of such 

7 materials and technologies at institutions of higher 

8 education; and 

9 (3) to encourage entities that produce such ma10 terials and technologies to make accessible versions 

11 more readily available in the market. 

12 (b) REVIEW.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 

13 Commission shall— 

14 (1) review applicable information technology ac15 cessibility standards; and 

16 (2) compile and annotate such accessibility 

17 standards as an additional information resource for 

18 institutions of higher education and companies that 

19 service the higher education market. 

20 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

21 (1) STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.—The Commission 

22 shall be composed of representatives from the fol23 lowing categories: 

24 (A) Communities of persons with disabil25 ities for whom the accessibility of postsecondary 


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1 electronic instructional materials and related 

2 technologies is a significant factor in ensuring 

3 equal participation in higher education, and 

4 nonprofit organizations that provide accessible 

5 electronic materials to these communities. 

6 (B) Higher education leadership, including 

7 institution of higher education presidents, pro8 vosts, deans, vice presidents or deans of librar9 ies, chief information officers, and other senior 

10 institutional executives. 

11 (C) Higher education disability coordina12 tors or other disability support staff. 

13 (D) Developers of postsecondary electronic 

14 instructional materials and manufacturers of 

15 related technologies. 

16 (2) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—The Com17 mission members shall be appointed as follows: 

18 (A) Eight members, 2 from each category 

19 described in paragraph (1), shall be appointed 

20 by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 

21 4 of whom shall be appointed on the rec22 ommendation of the majority leader of the 

23 House of Representatives and 4 of whom shall 

24 be appointed on the recommendation of the mi25 nority leader of the House of Representatives, 


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1 with the Speaker ensuring that 1 developer of 

2 postsecondary electronic instructional materials 

3 and 1 manufacturer of related technologies are 

4 appointed. The Speaker shall also appoint 2 ad5 ditional members, 1 student with a disability 

6 and 1 faculty member from an institution of 

7 higher education. 

8 (B) Eight members, 2 from each category 

9 described in paragraph (1), shall be appointed 

10 by the President pro tempore of the Senate, 4 

11 of whom shall be appointed on the rec12 ommendation of the majority leader of the Sen13 ate and 4 of whom shall be appointed on the 

14 recommendation of the minority leader of the 

15 Senate, with the President pro tempore ensur16 ing that 1 developer of postsecondary electronic 

17 instructional materials and 1 manufacturer of 

18 related technologies are appointed. The Presi19 dent pro tempore shall also appoint 2 additional 

20 members, 1 student with a disability and 1 fac21 ulty member from an institution of higher edu22 cation. 

23 (C) Four members, each of whom must 

24 possess extensive, demonstrated technical exper25 tise in the development and implementation of 


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1 accessible postsecondary electronic instructional 

2 materials, shall be appointed by the Secretary 

3 of Education. One of these members shall rep4 resent postsecondary students with disabilities, 

5 1 shall represent higher education leadership, 1 

6 shall be a higher education disability coordi7 nator or other disability support staff, and 1 

8 shall represent developers of postsecondary elec9 tronic instructional materials. 

10 (3) ELIGIBILITY TO SERVE AS A MEMBER.— 

11 Federal employees are ineligible for appointment to 

12 the Commission. An appointee to a volunteer or ad13 visory position with a Federal agency or related ad14 visory body may be appointed to the Commission so 

15 long as his or her primary employment is with a 

16 non-Federal entity and he or she is not otherwise 

17 engaged in financially compensated work on behalf 

18 of the Federal Government, exclusive of any stand19 ard expense reimbursement or grant-funded activi20 ties. 

21 (d) AUTHORITY AND ADMINISTRATION.— 

22 (1) AUTHORITY.—The Commission’s execution 

23 of its duties shall be independent of the Secretary of 

24 Education, the Attorney General, and the head of 

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1 ernment with regulatory or standard setting author2 ity in the areas addressed by the commission. 

3 (2) ADMINISTRATION.— 

4 (A) STAFFING.—There shall be no perma5 nent staffing for the Commission. 

6 (B) LEADERSHIP.—Commission members 

7 shall elect a chairperson from among the ap8 pointees to the Commission. 

9 (C) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The 

10 Commission shall be provided administrative 

11 support, as needed, by the Secretary of Edu12 cation through the Office of Postsecondary 

13 Education of the Department of Education. 

14 (e) DUTIES.— 

15 (1) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 18 months 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, subject to 

17 a 6-month extension that it may exercise at its dis18 cretion, the Commission shall— 

19 (A) develop and issue guidelines for acces20 sible postsecondary electronic instructional ma21 terials, and related technologies; and 

22 (B) in developing the guidelines, the Com23 mission shall— 


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1 (i) establish a technical panel pursu2 ant to paragraph (4) to support the Com3 mission in developing the guidelines; 

4 (ii) develop criteria for determining 

5 which materials and technologies constitute 

6 postsecondary electronic instructional ma7 terials and related technologies; 

8 (iii) identify existing national and 

9 international accessibility standards that 

10 are relevant to student use of postsec11 ondary electronic instructional materials 

12 and related technologies at institutions of 

13 higher education; 

14 (iv) identify and address any unique 

15 pedagogical and accessibility requirements 

16 of postsecondary electronic instructional 

17 materials and related technologies that are 

18 not addressed, or not adequately ad19 dressed, by the identified, relevant existing 

20 accessibility standards; 

21 (v) identify those aspects of accessi22 bility, and types of postsecondary instruc23 tional materials and related technologies, 

24 for which the Commission cannot produce 


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1 guidelines or which cannot be addressed by 

2 existing accessibility standards due to— 

3 (I) inherent limitations of com4 mercially available technologies; or 

5 (II) the challenges posed by a 

6 specific category of disability that cov7 ers a wide spectrum of impairments 

8 and capabilities which makes it dif9 ficult to assess the benefits from par10 ticular guidelines on a categorical 

11 basis; 

12 (vi) ensure that the guidelines are 

13 consistent with the requirements of section 

14 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

15 U.S.C. 794) and titles II and III of the 

16 Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 12131 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 12181 et seq.); 

18 (vii) ensure that the guidelines are 

19 consistent, to the extent feasible and ap20 propriate, with the technical and functional 

21 performance criteria included in the na22 tional and international accessibility stand23 ards identified by the Commission as rel24 evant to student use of postsecondary elecVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:26 Nov 04, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10080.IH H10080

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1 tronic instructional materials and related 

2 technologies; 

3 (viii) allow for the use of an alter4 native design or technology that results in 

5 substantially equivalent or greater accessi6 bility and usability by individuals with dis7 abilities than would be provided by compli8 ance with the guidelines; and 

9 (ix) provide that where electronic in10 structional materials, or related tech11 nologies, that comply fully with the guide12 lines are not commercially available, or 

13 where such compliance is not technically 

14 feasible, the institution may select the 

15 product that best meets the guidelines con16 sistent with the institution’s business and 

17 pedagogical needs. 

18 (2) ANNOTATED LIST OF INFORMATION TECH19 NOLOGY STANDARDS.—Not later than 18 months 

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, subject 

21 to a 6-month extension that it may exercise at its 

22 discretion, the Commission shall, with the assistance 

23 of the technical panel established under paragraph 

24 (4), develop and issue an annotated list of informa25 tion technology standards. 


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1 (3) APPROVAL.—Issuance of the guidelines and 

2 annotated list of information technology standards 

3 shall require approval of at least 75 percent of the 

4 members of the Commission. 

5 (4) TECHNICAL PANEL.—Not later than 1 

6 month after first meeting, the Commission shall ap7 point and convene a panel of 12 technical experts, 

8 each of whom shall have extensive, demonstrated 

9 technical experience in developing, researching, or 

10 implementing accessible postsecondary electronic in11 structional materials, or related technologies. The 

12 Commission has discretion to determine a process 

13 for nominating, vetting, and confirming a panel of 

14 experts that fairly represents the stakeholder com15 munities on the Commission. The technical panel 

16 shall include a representative from the United States 

17 Access Board. 

18 (f) REVIEW OF GUIDELINES.—Not later than 5 years 

19 after issuance of the guidelines and annotated list of infor20 mation technology standards described in subsections (a) 

21 and (b), and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary of 

22 Education shall publish a notice in the Federal Register 

23 requesting public comment about whether there is a need 

24 to reconstitute the Commission to update the guidelines 

25 and annotated list of information technology standards to 


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1 reflect technological advances, changes in postsecondary 

2 electronic instructional materials and related technologies, 

3 or updated national and international accessibility stand4 ards. The Secretary shall then submit a report and rec5 ommendation to Congress regarding whether the Commis6 sion should be reconstituted. 

7 (g) RULE OF APPLICATION.— 

8 (1) NONCONFORMING POSTSECONDARY ELEC9 TRONIC INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS OR RELATED

10 TECHNOLOGIES.—Nothing in this section shall be 

11 construed to require an institution of higher edu12 cation to require, provide, or both recommend and 

13 provide, postsecondary electronic instructional mate14 rials or related technologies that conform to the 

15 guidelines. However, an institution that selects or 

16 uses nonconforming postsecondary electronic instruc17 tional materials or related technologies must other18 wise comply with existing obligations under section 

19 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

20 794) and titles II and III of the Americans with 

21 Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 

22 12181 et seq.) to provide access to the educational 

23 benefit afforded by such materials and technologies 

24 through provision of appropriate and reasonable 


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1 modification, accommodation, and auxiliary aids or 

2 services. 

3 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING LAWS AND

4 REGULATIONS.—With respect to the Americans with 

5 Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) 

6 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 

7 et seq.), nothing in this Act may be construed— 

8 (A) to authorize or require conduct prohib9 ited under the Americans with Disabilities Act 

10 of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, in11 cluding the regulations issued pursuant to those 

12 laws; 

13 (B) to expand, limit, or alter the remedies 

14 or defenses under the Americans with Disabil15 ities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 

16 1973; 

17 (C) to supersede, restrict, or limit the ap18 plication of the Americans with Disabilities Act 

19 of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; or 

20 (D) to limit the authority of Federal agen21 cies to issue regulations pursuant to the Ameri22 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Re23 habilitation Act of 1973. 

24 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ANNOTATED LIST OF INFORMATION TECH2 NOLOGY STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘annotated list of 

3 information technology standards’’ means a list of 

4 existing national and international accessibility 

5 standards relevant to student use of postsecondary 

6 electronic instructional materials and related tech7 nologies, and to other types of information tech8 nology common to institutions of higher education, 

9 such as institutional websites or registration sys10 tems, annotated by the Commission established pur11 suant to this section. The annotated list of informa12 tion technology standards is intended to serve solely 

13 as a reference tool to inform any consideration of 

14 the relevance of such standards in higher education 

15 contexts. 

16 (2) POSTSECONDARY ELECTRONIC INSTRUC17 TIONAL MATERIALS.—The term ‘‘postsecondary elec18 tronic instructional materials’’ means digital cur19 ricular content that is required, provided, or both 

20 recommended and provided by an institution of high21 er education for use in a postsecondary instructional 

22 program. 

23 (3) RELATED TECHNOLOGIES.—The term ‘‘re24 lated technologies’’ refers to any software, applica25 tions, learning management or content management 


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1 systems, and hardware that an institution of higher 

2 education requires, provides, or both recommends 

3 and provides for student access to and use of post4 secondary electronic instructional materials in a 

5 postsecondary instructional program. 

6 (4) TECHNICAL PANEL.—The term ‘‘technical 

7 panel’’ means a group of experts with extensive, 

8 demonstrated technical experience in the develop9 ment and implementation of accessibility features for 

10 postsecondary electronic instructional materials and 

11 related technologies, established by the Commission 

12 pursuant to subsection (e)(4), which will assist the 

13 Commission in the development of the guidelines 

14 and annotated list of information technology stand15 ards authorized under this Act. 

16 SEC. 104. POSTSECONDARY PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS 

17 WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES. 

18 (a) PURPOSE.—Section 766 of the Higher Education 

19 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1140f) is amended to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 766. PURPOSE. 

22 ‘‘It is the purpose of this subpart to support inclusive 

23 programs that promote the successful transition of stu24 dents with intellectual disabilities into higher education 

25 and the earning of a degree, certificate, or recognized 


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1 postsecondary credential issued by the institution of high2 er education.’’. 

3 (b) PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL

4 DISABILITIES.—Section 767 of the Higher Education Act 

5 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1140g) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 767. INCLUSIVE HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR 

7 STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABIL8 ITIES. 

9 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro11 priated under section 769(a), the Secretary shall an12 nually award grants, on a competitive basis, to insti13 tutions of higher education (or consortia of three or 

14 more institutions of higher education), to enable 

15 such institutions or consortia to create or expand a 

16 comprehensive transition and postsecondary edu17 cation program for students with intellectual disabil18 ities. 

19 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY AND APPROPRIATIONS LIM20 ITS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) RELATION TO OTHER GRANTS.—An 

22 institution of higher education that received a 

23 grant under this section before the date of the 

24 enactment of the Improving Access to Higher 


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1 Education Act may not receive an additional 

2 grant under this section unless— 

3 ‘‘(i) the institution receives a grant as 

4 part of a consortium of three or more in5 stitutions of higher education; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) the grant term of such preceding 

7 grant has ended. 

8 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON AMOUNTS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU10 CATION.—A grant under this section made 

11 to an institution of higher education may 

12 not be in an amount greater than 

13 $300,000. 

14 ‘‘(ii) CONSORTIUM.—A grant under 

15 this section made to a consortia of institu16 tions of higher education may not be in an 

17 amount greater than $500,000. 

18 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—The program under 

19 this section shall be administered by the office in the 

20 Department that administers other postsecondary 

21 education programs in consultation with the Office 

22 of Postsecondary Education and the Office of Spe23 cial Education and Rehabilitative Services of the De24 partment of Education. 


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1 ‘‘(4) DURATION OF GRANTS.—A grant under 

2 this section shall be awarded for a period of 5 years. 

3 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—An institution of higher edu4 cation or a consortium desiring a grant under this section 

5 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

6 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

7 Secretary may require. 

8 ‘‘(c) AWARD BASIS.—In awarding grants under this 

9 section, the Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) provide for an equitable geographic dis11 tribution of such grants; 

12 ‘‘(2) to the extent possible, provide for an equi13 table distribution of such grants between 4-year in14 stitutions of higher education and 2-year institutions 

15 of higher education, including community colleges; 

16 ‘‘(3) provide grant funds for high-quality, inclu17 sive higher education programs for students with in18 tellectual disabilities, hereinafter referred to as inclu19 sive higher education programs, that will serve areas 

20 that are underserved by programs of this type; 

21 ‘‘(4) in the case of an institution of higher edu22 cation that provides institutionally owned or oper23 ated housing for students attending the institution, 

24 award grants only to such institutions that integrate 

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1 ing offered to students without disabilities or to in2 stitutions that provide such integrated housing 

3 through providing supports to students directly or 

4 through partnerships with other organizations; 

5 ‘‘(5) provide grant funds to encourage involve6 ment of students attending institutions of higher 

7 education in the fields of special education, general 

8 education, vocational rehabilitation, assistive tech9 nology, or related fields in the program; 

10 ‘‘(6) select applications that— 

11 ‘‘(A) demonstrate an existing comprehen12 sive transition and postsecondary education 

13 program for students with intellectual disabil14 ities that is title IV eligible; or 

15 ‘‘(B) agree to establish such a program; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(7) give preference to applications submitted 

18 under subsection (b) that agree to incorporate into 

19 the inclusive higher education program for students 

20 with intellectual disabilities carried out under the 

21 grant one or more of the following elements: 

22 ‘‘(A) The formation of a partnership with 

23 any relevant agency serving students with intel24 lectual disabilities, such as a vocational rehabili25 tation agency. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Applications that represent geo2 graphically underserved States. 

3 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS; REQUIREMENTS.—An institu4 tion of higher education or consortium receiving a grant 

5 under this section shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) use the grant funds to establish an inclu7 sive higher education program for students with in8 tellectual disabilities that— 

9 ‘‘(A) serves students with intellectual dis10 abilities; 

11 ‘‘(B) provides individual supports and serv12 ices for the academic and social inclusion of 

13 students with intellectual disabilities in aca14 demic courses, extracurricular activities, and 

15 other aspects of the regular postsecondary pro16 gram; 

17 ‘‘(C) with respect to the students with in18 tellectual disabilities participating in the pro19 gram, provides a focus on— 

20 ‘‘(i) academic and career development; 

21 ‘‘(ii) socialization and inclusion with 

22 the general student population; 

23 ‘‘(iii) independent living skills, includ24 ing self-advocacy skills; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) integrated work experiences and 

2 career skills that lead to competitive inte3 grated employment; 

4 ‘‘(D) integrates person-centered planning 

5 in the development of the course of study for 

6 each student with an intellectual disability par7 ticipating in the program; 

8 ‘‘(E) plans for the sustainability of the 

9 program after the end of the grant period, with 

10 a written business plan for revenue and expend11 itures to be provided to the Department by the 

12 end of year 3; and 

13 ‘‘(F) awards a degree, certificate, or recog14 nized postsecondary credential for students with 

15 intellectual disabilities upon the completion of 

16 the program; 

17 ‘‘(2) in the case of an institution of higher edu18 cation that provides institutionally owned or oper19 ated housing for students attending the institution 

20 or integrated housing through providing supports to 

21 students directly or through partnerships with other 

22 organizations, provide for the integration of students 

23 with intellectual disabilities into housing offered to 

24 students without disabilities; 


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1 ‘‘(3) participate with the coordinating center es2 tablished under section 777(b) in the evaluation of 

3 the program, including by regularly submitting data 

4 on experiences and outcomes of individual students 

5 participating in the program; and 

6 ‘‘(4) partner with one or more local educational 

7 agencies to support students with intellectual disabil8 ities participating in the program who are eligible 

9 for special education and related services under the 

10 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

11 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), including the use of funds 

12 available under part B of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1411 

13 et seq.) to support the participation of such students 

14 in the program. 

15 ‘‘(e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—An institution of 

16 higher education (or consortium) that receives a grant 

17 under this section shall provide matching funds toward the 

18 cost of the inclusive higher education program for students 

19 with intellectual disabilities carried out under the grant. 

20 Such matching funds may be provided in cash or in-kind, 

21 and shall be in an amount of not less than 25 percent 

22 of the amount of such costs. 

23 ‘‘(f) DATA COLLECTION AND TRANSMISSION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An institution or consor25 tium receiving a grant under this section shall colVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:26 Nov 04, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10080.IH H10080

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1 lect and transmit to the coordinating center estab2 lished under section 777(b) on an annual basis for 

3 each student who is enrolled in the program, stu4 dent-level information related to the experiences and 

5 outcomes of students who participate in the inclusive 

6 higher education program for students with intellec7 tual disabilities. 

8 ‘‘(2) LONGITUDINAL DATA.—Each grantee shall 

9 collect longitudinal outcome data from each student 

10 participating in the program and transmit such data 

11 to the coordinating center established under section 

12 777(b). Such longitudinal data shall be collected for 

13 every student each year for 5 years after the student 

14 graduates from, or otherwise exits, the program. 

15 ‘‘(3) DATA TO BE COLLECTED.—The program16 level information and data and student-level infor17 mation and data to be collected under this sub18 section shall include— 

19 ‘‘(A) the number and type of postsec20 ondary education courses taken and completed 

21 by the student; 

22 ‘‘(B) academic outcomes; 

23 ‘‘(C) competitive, integrated employment 

24 outcomes; 

25 ‘‘(D) independent living outcomes; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) social outcomes. 

2 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the date 

3 of the first grant awarded under this section, the Sec4 retary shall prepare and disseminate a report to the au5 thorizing committees and to the public that— 

6 ‘‘(1) reviews the activities of the inclusive high7 er education programs for students with intellectual 

8 disabilities funded under this section; and 

9 ‘‘(2) provides guidance and recommendations 

10 on how effective programs can be replicated.’’. 

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

12 769(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

13 1140i) is amended by striking ‘‘2009’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘2025’’. 

15 SEC. 105. NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER AND 

16 NATIONAL COORDINATING CENTER FOR IN17 CLUSION OF STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL 

18 DISABILITIES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 777 of the Higher Edu20 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1140q) is amended to read 

21 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 777. NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER 

2 AND COORDINATING CENTER FOR INCLU3 SION OF STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL 

4 DISABILITIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro7 priated under paragraph (5), the Secretary shall 

8 award a grant to, or enter into a contract or cooper9 ative agreement with, an eligible entity to provide 

10 for the establishment and support of a National 

11 Technical Assistance Center. The National Technical 

12 Assistance Center shall carry out the duties set forth 

13 in paragraph (4). 

14 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—The program under 

15 this section shall be administered by the office in the 

16 Department that administers other postsecondary 

17 education programs in consultation with the Office 

18 of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. 

19 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this subpart, the 

20 term ‘eligible entity’ means an institution of higher 

21 education, a nonprofit organization, or partnership 

22 of two or more such institutions or organizations, 

23 with demonstrated expertise in— 

24 ‘‘(A) transitioning students with disabil25 ities from secondary school to postsecondary 

26 education; 


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1 ‘‘(B) supporting students with disabilities 

2 in postsecondary education; 

3 ‘‘(C) technical knowledge necessary for the 

4 dissemination of information in accessible for5 mats; and 

6 ‘‘(D) working with diverse types of institu7 tions of higher education, including community 

8 colleges. 

9 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.—The duties of the National 

10 Technical Assistance Center shall include the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(A) ASSISTANCE TO STUDENTS AND FAM13 ILIES.—The National Technical Assistance 

14 Center shall provide information and technical 

15 assistance to students with disabilities and the 

16 families of students with disabilities to support 

17 students across the broad spectrum of disabil18 ities, including— 

19 ‘‘(i) information to assist individuals 

20 with disabilities who are prospective stu21 dents of an institution of higher education 

22 in planning for postsecondary education 

23 while the students are in secondary school; 

24 ‘‘(ii) information and technical assist25 ance provided to individualized education 


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1 program teams (as defined in section 

2 614(d)(1) of the Individuals with Disabil3 ities Education Act) for secondary school 

4 students with disabilities, and to early out5 reach and student services programs, in6 cluding programs authorized under sub7 parts 2, 4, and 5 of part A of title IV, to 

8 support students across a broad spectrum 

9 of disabilities with the successful transition 

10 to postsecondary education; 

11 ‘‘(iii) research-based supports, serv12 ices, and accommodations which are avail13 able in postsecondary settings, including 

14 services provided by other agencies such as 

15 vocational rehabilitation; 

16 ‘‘(iv) information on student men17 toring and networking opportunities for 

18 students with disabilities; and 

19 ‘‘(v) effective recruitment and transi20 tion programs at postsecondary edu21 cational institutions. 

22 ‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE TO INSTITUTIONS OF

23 HIGHER EDUCATION.—The National Technical 

24 Assistance Center shall provide information and 

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1 ministrators of institutions of higher education 

2 to improve the services provided to, the accom3 modations for, the retention rates of, and the 

4 completion rates of, students with disabilities in 

5 higher education settings, which may include— 

6 ‘‘(i) collection and dissemination of 

7 best and promising practices and materials 

8 for accommodating and supporting stu9 dents with disabilities, including practices 

10 and materials supported by the grants, 

11 contracts, or cooperative agreements au12 thorized under subparts 1, 2, and 3; 

13 ‘‘(ii) development and provision of 

14 training modules for higher education fac15 ulty on exemplary practices for accommo16 dating and supporting postsecondary stu17 dents with disabilities across a range of 

18 academic fields, which may include uni19 versal design for learning and practices 

20 supported by the grants, contracts, or co21 operative agreements authorized under 

22 subparts 1, 2, and 3; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) development of technology-based 

24 tutorials for higher education faculty and 

25 staff, including new faculty and graduate 


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1 students, on best and promising practices 

2 related to support and retention of stu3 dents with disabilities in postsecondary 

4 education. 

5 ‘‘(C) INFORMATION COLLECTION AND DIS6 SEMINATION.—The National Technical Assist7 ance Center shall be responsible for building, 

8 maintaining, and updating a database of dis9 ability support services information with respect 

10 to institutions of higher education, or for ex11 panding and updating an existing database of 

12 disabilities support services information with re13 spect to institutions of higher education. Such 

14 database shall be available to the general public 

15 through a website built to high technical stand16 ards of accessibility practicable for the broad 

17 spectrum of individuals with disabilities. Such 

18 database and website shall include available in19 formation on— 

20 ‘‘(i) disability documentation require21 ments; 

22 ‘‘(ii) support services available; 

23 ‘‘(iii) links to financial aid; 

24 ‘‘(iv) accommodations policies; 

25 ‘‘(v) accessible instructional materials; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) other topics relevant to students 

2 with disabilities; and 

3 ‘‘(vii) the information in the report 

4 described in subparagraph (E). 

5 ‘‘(D) DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES.— 

6 The National Technical Assistance Center shall 

7 work with organizations and individuals with 

8 proven expertise related to disability support 

9 services for postsecondary students with disabil10 ities to evaluate, improve, and disseminate in11 formation related to the delivery of high quality 

12 disability support services at institutions of 

13 higher education. 

14 ‘‘(E) REVIEW AND REPORT.—Not later 

15 than three years after the establishment of the 

16 National Technical Assistance Center, and 

17 every two years thereafter, the National Tech18 nical Assistance Center shall prepare and dis19 seminate a report to the Secretary and the au20 thorizing committees analyzing the condition of 

21 postsecondary success for students with disabil22 ities. Such report shall include— 

23 ‘‘(i) a review of the activities and the 

24 effectiveness of the programs authorized 

25 under this part; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) annual enrollment and gradua2 tion rates of students with disabilities in 

3 institutions of higher education from pub4 licly reported data; 

5 ‘‘(iii) recommendations for effective 

6 postsecondary supports and services for 

7 students with disabilities, and how such 

8 supports and services may be widely imple9 mented at institutions of higher education; 

10 ‘‘(iv) recommendations on reducing 

11 barriers to full participation for students 

12 with disabilities in higher education; and 

13 ‘‘(v) a description of strategies with a 

14 demonstrated record of effectiveness in im15 proving the success of such students in 

16 postsecondary education. 

17 ‘‘(F) STAFFING OF THE CENTER.—In hir18 ing employees of the National Technical Assist19 ance Center, the National Technical Assistance 

20 Center shall consider the expertise and experi21 ence of prospective employees in providing 

22 training and technical assistance to practi23 tioners. 


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1 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this subsection $10,000,000. 

4 ‘‘(b) THE NATIONAL COORDINATING CENTER FOR

5 INCLUSION OF STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABIL6 ITIES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In 

8 this subsection, the term ‘eligible entity’ means an 

9 entity, or a partnership of entities, that has dem10 onstrated expertise in the fields of— 

11 ‘‘(A) higher education; 

12 ‘‘(B) the education of students with intel13 lectual disabilities; 

14 ‘‘(C) the development of inclusive higher 

15 education programs for students with intellec16 tual disabilities; and 

17 ‘‘(D) evaluation and technical assistance. 

18 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro19 priated under paragraph (7), the Secretary shall 

20 enter into a cooperative agreement, on a competitive 

21 basis, with an eligible entity for the purpose of es22 tablishing a coordinating center for institutions of 

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1 abilities, including institutions participating in 

2 grants authorized under subpart 2 to provide— 

3 ‘‘(A) recommendations related to the devel4 opment of standards for such programs; 

5 ‘‘(B) technical assistance for such pro6 grams; and 

7 ‘‘(C) evaluations for such programs, in8 cluding systematic collection of data on the ex9 periences and outcomes of individuals with in10 tellectual disabilities. 

11 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—The program under 

12 this subsection shall be administered by the Office of 

13 Postsecondary Education, in collaboration with the 

14 Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Serv15 ices. 

16 ‘‘(4) DURATION.—The Secretary shall enter 

17 into a cooperative agreement under this subsection 

18 for a period of five years. 

19 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS OF COOPERATIVE AGREE20 MENT.—The eligible entity entering into a coopera21 tive agreement under this subsection shall establish 

22 and maintain a coordinating center that shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) serve as the technical assistance enti24 ty for all inclusive higher education programs 

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1 ondary programs for students with intellectual 

2 disabilities; 

3 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance regarding 

4 the development, evaluation, and continuous im5 provement of such programs; 

6 ‘‘(C) evaluate such programs using quali7 tative and quantitative methodologies for meas8 uring program strengths in the areas of aca9 demic access, academic enrichment, socializa10 tion, competitive integrated employment, attain11 ment of a degree, certificate, or recognized 

12 postsecondary credential, and independent liv13 ing; 

14 ‘‘(D) evaluate participant progress by cre15 ating and maintaining a database of student16 level information and data related to the experi17 ences and outcomes of youth who participate in 

18 each inclusive higher education program that 

19 receives a grant under this subpart; 

20 ‘‘(E) create and maintain a mechanism for 

21 continuing to collect outcome information from 

22 students who participated in inclusive higher 

23 education programs that were developed in pre24 vious grant award cycles; 


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1 ‘‘(F) assist recipients of a grant under this 

2 subpart in efforts to award a meaningful cre3 dential and to seek institution of higher edu4 cation approval for any newly developed creden5 tials; 

6 ‘‘(G) create and maintain a database of 

7 student and program level data reflecting imple8 mentation of the inclusive higher education pro9 gram that receives a grant under this subpart; 

10 ‘‘(H) create and maintain a mechanism to 

11 consolidate follow up data on student outcomes 

12 collected by inclusive higher education programs 

13 funded through previous grant cycles; 

14 ‘‘(I) assist recipients of grants under sub15 part 2 in efforts to award a degree, certificate, 

16 or recognized postsecondary credential to stu17 dents with intellectual disabilities upon the 

18 completion of such programs; 

19 ‘‘(J) identify model memoranda of agree20 ment for use between or among institutions of 

21 higher education and State and local agencies 

22 providing funding for such programs; 

23 ‘‘(K) develop recommendations for the nec24 essary components of such programs, such as— 


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1 ‘‘(i) academic, career and technical, 

2 social, and independent living skills; 

3 ‘‘(ii) evaluation of student progress; 

4 ‘‘(iii) program administration and 

5 evaluation; 

6 ‘‘(iv) student eligibility; 

7 ‘‘(v) issues regarding the equivalency 

8 of a student’s participation in such pro9 grams to semester, trimester, quarter, 

10 credit, or clock hours at an institution of 

11 higher education, as the case may be; and 

12 ‘‘(vi) access to student housing for 

13 students participating in the inclusive 

14 higher education programs, including ac15 commodations and services that support 

16 independent living; 

17 ‘‘(L) review and analyze— 

18 ‘‘(i) the impact of Federal and State 

19 legislation on inclusive higher education 

20 and inclusive higher education policy; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) funding streams for such pro22 grams; 

23 ‘‘(M) provide recommendations regarding 

24 the funding streams described in paragraph 

25 (H)(ii); 


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1 ‘‘(N) develop mechanisms for regular com2 munication, outreach and dissemination of in3 formation about inclusive higher education pro4 grams for students with intellectual disabilities 

5 under subpart 2 between or among such pro6 grams and to families and prospective students; 

7 ‘‘(O) host a meeting of all recipients of 

8 grants under subpart 2 not less often than once 

9 each year; and 

10 ‘‘(P) convene a work group to continue the 

11 development of and recommendations for model 

12 criteria, standards, and components of inclusive 

13 higher education programs and comprehensive 

14 transition and postsecondary programs for stu15 dents with intellectual disabilities, that are ap16 propriate for the development of accreditation 

17 standards— 

18 ‘‘(i) which work group shall include— 

19 ‘‘(I) an expert in community col20 lege education; 

21 ‘‘(II) an expert in career tech22 nical education; 

23 ‘‘(III) an expert in 4-year institu24 tions of higher education; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) an expert in special edu2 cation; 

3 ‘‘(V) a disability organization 

4 that represents students with intellec5 tual disabilities; 

6 ‘‘(VI) a representative from the 

7 National Advisory Committee on In8 stitutional Quality and Integrity; and 

9 ‘‘(VII) a representative of a re10 gional or national accreditation agen11 cy or association; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the work group will carry out the 

13 following activities— 

14 ‘‘(I) conduct outreach to accred15 iting agencies; 

16 ‘‘(II) develop a technical guid17 ance document to support implemen18 tation of the model standards; 

19 ‘‘(III) develop and conduct a pro20 tocol for field testing and imple21 menting the model standards; and 

22 ‘‘(IV) update recommendations 

23 for the model standards, criteria, and 

24 components of such programs, as ap25 plicable. 


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1 ‘‘(6) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the 

2 date of the establishment of the coordinating center 

3 under this subsection, the coordinating center shall 

4 report to the Secretary, the authorizing committees, 

5 and the National Advisory Committee on Institu6 tional Quality and Integrity on the activities de7 scribed in paragraph (5). 

8 ‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

10 this subpart such sums as may be necessary for fis11 cal year 2025 and each of the five succeeding fiscal 

12 years.’’. 

13 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

14 778 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 is repealed. 

15 SEC. 106. DEFINITIONS. 

16 Section 760 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

17 U.S.C. 1140) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 760. DEFINITIONS. 

19 ‘‘In this part: 

20 ‘‘(1) COMPREHENSIVE TRANSITION AND POST21 SECONDARY PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WITH INTEL22 LECTUAL DISABILITIES.—The term ‘comprehensive 

23 transition and postsecondary program for students 

24 with intellectual disabilities’ means a program that 

25 leads to a degree, certificate, or recognized postsecVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:26 Nov 04, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10080.IH H10080

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1 ondary credential issued by an institution of higher 

2 education that meets each of the following require3 ments: 

4 ‘‘(A) Is offered by an institution of higher 

5 education. 

6 ‘‘(B) Is designed to support students with 

7 intellectual disabilities who are seeking to con8 tinue academic, career and technical, and inde9 pendent living instruction at an institution of 

10 higher education in order to prepare for com11 petitive integrated employment. 

12 ‘‘(C) Includes student advising and a pro13 gram of study. 

14 ‘‘(D) Requires students with intellectual 

15 disabilities to participate on not less than a 

16 half-time basis as determined by the institution, 

17 with such participation focusing on academic 

18 and career development components and occur19 ring through one or more of the following ac20 tivities: 

21 ‘‘(i) Regular enrollment in credit-bear22 ing courses with students without disabil23 ities that are offered by the institution. 

24 ‘‘(ii) Auditing or participating in 

25 courses with students without disabilities 


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1 that are offered by the institution and for 

2 which the student does not receive regular 

3 academic credit. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Enrollment in noncredit-bearing, 

5 nondegree courses with students without 

6 disabilities. 

7 ‘‘(iv) Participation in internships, ap8 prenticeships, or work-based experiences in 

9 competitive integrated settings for a se10 mester, or multiple semesters. 

11 ‘‘(E) Requires students with intellectual 

12 disabilities to be socially and academically inte13 grated with students without disabilities to the 

14 maximum extent practicable. 

15 ‘‘(F) Does not require the work compo16 nents (ii) to occur each semester. 

17 ‘‘(2) DISABILITY.—The term ‘disability’ has the 

18 meaning given such term in section 3 of the Ameri19 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

20 12102). 

21 ‘‘(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

22 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

23 meaning given such term in section 101. 

24 ‘‘(4) OFFICE OF ACCESSIBILITY.—The term 

25 ‘Office of Accessibility’ has the meaning given to the 


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1 office of disability services of the institution or 

2 equivalent office. 

3 ‘‘(5) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN4 TIAL.—The term ‘recognized postsecondary creden5 tial’ has the meaning given the term in section 101 

6 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 

7 ‘‘(6) STUDENT WITH AN INTELLECTUAL DIS8 ABILITY.—The term ‘student with an intellectual 

9 disability’ means a student— 

10 ‘‘(A) with a cognitive impairment, charac11 terized by significant limitations in— 

12 ‘‘(i) intellectual and cognitive func13 tioning; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) adaptive behavior as expressed in 

15 conceptual, social, and practical adaptive 

16 skills; 

17 ‘‘(B) who is currently, or was formerly, eli18 gible for a free appropriate public education 

19 under the Individuals with Disabilities Edu20 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.); and 

21 ‘‘(C) or, in the case of a student who has 

22 not currently or formerly been found eligible for 

23 a free appropriate education under the Individ24 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

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1 viously been found eligible as a student with an 

2 intellectual disability under such Act, docu3 mentation establishing that the student has an 

4 intellectual disability, such as— 

5 ‘‘(i) a documented comprehensive and 

6 individualized psycho-educational evalua7 tion and diagnosis of an intellectual dis8 ability by a psychologist or other qualified 

9 professional; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) a record of the disability from a 

11 local or State educational agency, or gov12 ernment agency, such as the Social Secu13 rity Administration or a vocational reha14 bilitation agency, that identifies the intel15 lectual disability. 

16 ‘‘(7) UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING.—The 

17 term ‘universal design for learning’ means a scientif18 ically valid framework for guiding educational prac19 tice that— 

20 ‘‘(A) provides flexibility in the ways infor21 mation is presented, in the ways students re22 spond or demonstrate knowledge and skills, and 

23 in the ways students are engaged; and 

24 ‘‘(B) reduces barriers in instruction, pro25 vides appropriate accommodations, supports, 


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1 and challenges and maintains high achievement 

2 expectations for all students, including students 

3 with disabilities and students who are limited 

4 English proficient.’’. 

5 TITLE II—MISCELLANEOUS 

6 PROVISIONS 

7 SEC. 201. SUBMISSION OF DATA WITH RESPECT TO STU8 DENTS WITH DISABILITIES. 

9 Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

10 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)), is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(30) The institution will submit, for inclusion 

13 in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

14 System of the Department or any other Federal 

15 postsecondary institution data collection effort, key 

16 data related to undergraduate and graduate stu17 dents enrolled at the institution who are formally 

18 registered as students with disabilities with the insti19 tution’s office of accessibility, including the total 

20 number of students with disabilities enrolled, the 

21 number of students accessing or receiving accommo22 dation, the percentage of students with disabilities of 

23 all undergraduate students, and the total number of 

24 undergraduate certificates or degrees awarded to 

25 students with disabilities. An institution shall not be 


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1 required to submit the information described in the 

2 preceding sentence if the number of such students 

3 would reveal personally identifiable information 

4 about an individual student.’’. 

5 SEC. 202. TRAINING FOR REALTIME WRITERS TO PROVIDE 

6 CLOSED CAPTIONING AND COURT REPORT7 ING SERVICES. 

8 Section 872(e) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

9 (20 U.S.C. 1161s(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘2009’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘2025’’. 

11 SEC. 203. PERFECTING AMENDMENT. 

12 Section 103(6) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

13 (20 U.S.C. 1003(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

14 3(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3’’. 

Æ 


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