I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4786 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide students with disabil-
ities and their families with access to critical information needed to 
select the right college and succeed once enrolled. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 29, 2021 
Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. BUCSHON, Ms. SCHRIER, and Mrs. RODGERS 
of Washington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Respond, Innovate, 
Succeed, and Empower Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘RISE Act 
of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. PERFECTING AMENDMENT TO THE DEFINITION OF 
DISABILITY. 
Section 103(6) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1003(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 
3(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3’’. 
SEC. 3. SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES TO 
SUCCEED ONCE ENROLLED IN COLLEGE. 
Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(30)(A) The institution will carry out the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(i) Adopt policies that make any of the 
following documentation submitted by an indi-
vidual sufficient to establish that such indi-
vidual is an individual with a disability: 
‘‘(I) Documentation that the indi-
vidual has had an individualized education 
program (IEP) in accordance with section 
614(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act, including an IEP that may 
not be current on the date of the deter-
mination that the individual has a dis-
ability. The institution may ask for addi-
tional documentation from an individual 
who had an IEP but who was subsequently 
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evaluated and determined to be ineligible 
for services under the Individuals with Dis-
abilities Education Act, including an indi-
vidual determined to be ineligible during 
elementary school. 
‘‘(II) Documentation describing serv-
ices or accommodations provided to the in-
dividual pursuant to section 504 of the Re-
habilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) 
(commonly referred to as a ‘Section 504 
plan’). 
‘‘(III) A plan or record of service for 
the individual from a private school, a local 
educational agency, a State educational 
agency, or an institution of higher edu-
cation provided in accordance with the 
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
(42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 
‘‘(IV) A record or evaluation from a 
relevant licensed professional finding that 
the individual has a disability. 
‘‘(V) A plan or record of disability 
from another institution of higher edu-
cation. 
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‘‘(VI) Documentation of a disability 
due to service in the uniformed services, as 
defined in section 484C(a). 
‘‘(ii) Adopt policies that are transparent 
and explicit regarding information about the 
process by which the institution determines eli-
gibility for accommodations. 
‘‘(iii) Disseminate such information to stu-
dents, parents, and faculty in an accessible for-
mat, including during any student orientation 
and making such information readily available 
on a public website of the institution. 
‘‘(B) Nothing in this paragraph shall be con-
strued to preclude an institution from establishing 
less burdensome criteria than that described in sub-
paragraph (A) to establish an individual as an indi-
vidual with a disability and therefore eligible for ac-
commodations.’’. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR THE NATIONAL 
CENTER FOR INFORMATION AND TECHNICAL 
SUPPORT FOR POSTSECONDARY STUDENTS 
WITH DISABILITIES. 
Section 777(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1140q(a)) is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘From 
amounts appropriated under section 778,’’ and in-
serting ‘‘From amounts appropriated under para-
graph (5),’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this subsection $10,000,000.’’. 
SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON STUDENTS WITH 
DISABILITIES. 
Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1094(a)), as amended by section 3, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(31) The institution will submit, for inclusion 
in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 
System (IPEDS) or any other Federal postsec-
ondary institution data collection effort, key data re-
lated to undergraduate students enrolled at the in-
stitution who are formally registered as students 
with disabilities with the institution’s office of dis-
ability services (or the equivalent office), including 
the total number of students with disabilities en-
rolled, the number of students accessing or receiving 
accommodations, the percentage of students with 
disabilities of all undergraduate students, and the 
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total number of undergraduate certificates or de-
grees awarded to students with disabilities. An insti-
tution shall not be required to submit the informa-
tion described in the preceding sentence if the num-
ber of such students would reveal personally identifi-
able information about an individual student.’’. 
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
None of the amendments made by this Act shall be 
construed to affect the meaning of the terms ‘‘reasonable 
accommodation’’ or ‘‘record of impairment’’ under the 
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 
et seq.) or the rights or remedies provided under such Act. 
Æ 
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