II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1295 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide students with disabilities and their families with access to critical information needed to 

select the right college and succeed once enrolled. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 6, 2017 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. HATCH, Mr. CASSIDY, and Ms. HASSAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 

students with disabilities and their families with access 

to critical information needed to select the right college 

and succeed once enrolled. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Respond, Innovate, 

5 Succeed, and Empower Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘RISE Act 

6 of 2017’’. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1295 IS

1 SEC. 2. PERFECTING AMENDMENT TO THE DEFINITION OF 

2 DISABILITY. 

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

4 (20 U.S.C. 1003(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

5 3(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3’’. 

6 SEC. 3. SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES TO 

7 SUCCEED ONCE ENROLLED IN COLLEGE. 

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

9 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(30) The institution will carry out the fol12 lowing: 

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

14 make the following documentation submitted by 

15 an individual sufficient to establish that such 

16 individual is an individual with a disability: 

17 ‘‘(i) Documentation that the indi18 vidual has had an individualized education 

19 program (IEP) in accordance with section 

20 614(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities 

21 Education Act, including an IEP that may 

22 not be current on the date of the deter23 mination that the individual has a dis24 ability. The institution may ask for addi25 tional documentation from an individual 

26 who had an IEP but who was subsequently 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1295 IS

1 evaluated and determined to be ineligible 

2 for services under the Individuals with Dis3 abilities Education Act, including an indi4 vidual determined to be ineligible during 

5 elementary school. 

6 ‘‘(ii) Documentation describing serv7 ices or accommodations provided to the in8 dividual pursuant to section 504 of the Re9 habilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) 

10 (commonly referred to as a ‘Section 504 

11 plan’). 

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

13 the individual from a private school, a local 

14 educational agency, a State educational 

15 agency, or an institution of higher edu16 cation provided in accordance with the 

17 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

18 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 

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

20 relevant licensed professional finding that 

21 the individual has a disability. 

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

23 from another institution of higher edu24 cation. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1295 IS

1 ‘‘(vi) Documentation of a disability 

2 due to service in the uniformed services, as 

3 defined in section 484C(a). 

4 ‘‘(B) Adopt policies that are transparent 

5 and explicit regarding information about the 

6 process by which the institution determines eli7 gibility for accommodations. 

8 ‘‘(C) Disseminate such information to stu9 dents, parents, and faculty in an accessible for10 mat, including during any student orientation 

11 and making such information readily available 

12 on a public website of the institution.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR THE NATIONAL 

14 CENTER FOR INFORMATION AND TECHNICAL 

15 SUPPORT FOR POSTSECONDARY STUDENTS 

16 WITH DISABILITIES. 

17 Section 777(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1140q(a)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘From 

20 amounts appropriated under section 778,’’ and in21 serting ‘‘From amounts appropriated under para22 graph (5),’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1295 IS

1 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this subsection $10,000,000.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON STUDENTS WITH 

5 DISABILITIES. 

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

7 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)), as amended by section 3, is further 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(31) The institution will submit, for inclusion 

10 in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

11 System (IPEDS) or any other Federal postsec12 ondary institution data collection effort, key data re13 lated to undergraduate students enrolled at the in14 stitution who are formally registered as students 

15 with disabilities with the institution’s office of dis16 ability services (or the equivalent office), including 

17 the total number of students with disabilities en18 rolled, the number of students accessing or receiving 

19 accommodations, the percentage of students with 

20 disabilities of all undergraduate students, and the 

21 total number of undergraduate certificates or de22 grees awarded to students with disabilities. An insti23 tution shall not be required to submit the informa24 tion described in the preceding sentence if the numVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Jun 09, 2017 Jkt 069000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295

lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1295 IS

1 ber of such students would reveal personally identifi2 able information about an individual student.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

4 None of the amendments made by this Act shall be 

5 construed to affect the meaning of the terms ‘‘reasonable 

6 accommodation’’ or ‘‘record of impairment’’ under the 

7 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 

8 et seq.) or the rights or remedies provided under such Act. 

Æ 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS