II 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3521 

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 

DECEMBER 8, 2016 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. HATCH, and Mr. CASSIDY) 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 2016’’ or the ‘‘RISE Act 

6 of 2016’’. 


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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 or up-to-date on the date of 

23 the determination. The institution may ask 

24 for additional documentation from an indi25 vidual who had an IEP who was found in26 eligible for services or exited from eligiVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Dec 10, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3521.IS S3521

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1 bility under such Act during elementary 

2 school. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Documentation that the indi4 vidual has had a plan prepared under sec5 tion 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

6 (29 U.S.C. 794). 

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 information about the 


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1 process by which the institution determines eli2 gibility for accommodations. 

3 ‘‘(C) Disseminate such information to stu4 dents, parents, and faculty in an accessible for5 mat, including during any student orientation 

6 and making such information readily available 

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

8 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR THE NATIONAL 

9 CENTER FOR INFORMATION AND TECHNICAL 

10 SUPPORT FOR POSTSECONDARY STUDENTS 

11 WITH DISABILITIES. 

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

13 (20 U.S.C. 1140q(a)) is amended— 

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

15 amounts appropriated under section 778,’’ and in16 serting ‘‘From amounts appropriated under para17 graph (5),’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

21 this subsection $10,000,000.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON STUDENTS WITH 

2 DISABILITIES. 

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

4 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)), as amended by section 3, is further 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

7 in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 

8 System (IPEDS) or any other Federal postsec9 ondary institution data collection effort, key data re10 lated to undergraduate students enrolled at the in11 stitution who are formally registered as students 

12 with disabilities with the institution’s office of dis13 ability services (or the equivalent office), including 

14 graduation rates for students with disabilities and 

15 the number and percentage of students with disabil16 ities accessing or receiving accommodations at the 

17 institution. An institution shall not be required to 

18 submit the information described in the preceding 

19 sentence if the number of such students is equal to 

20 or less than 10, so as not to reveal personally identi21 fiable information about an individual student.’’. 

22 SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

23 None of the amendments made by this Act shall be 

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

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


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

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

Æ 


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