1161 
assess the benefits from particular 
guidelines on a categorical basis; 
(vi) ensure that the guidelines are con-
sistent with the requirements of section 504 
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
794) and titles II and III of the Americans 
with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12131 et 
seq.; 42 U.S.C. 12181 et seq.); 
(vii) ensure that the guidelines are 
consistent, to the extent feasible and appro-
priate, with the technical and functional 
performance criteria included in the na-
tional and international accessibility stand-
ards identified by the commission as rel-
evant to student use of postsecondary elec-
tronic instructional materials and related 
technologies; 
(viii) allow for the use of an alter-
native design or technology that results in 
substantially equivalent or greater accessi-
bility and usability by individuals with 
disabilities than would be provided by com-
pliance with the guidelines; and 
(ix) provide that where electronic in-
structional 
materials, 
or 
related 
tech-
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1162 
nologies, that comply fully with the guide-
lines are not commercially available, or 
where such compliance is not technically 
feasible, the institution may select the prod-
uct that best meets the guidelines consistent 
with the institution’s business and peda-
gogical needs. 
(2) ANNOTATED
LIST
OF
INFORMATION
TECH-
NOLOGY STANDARDS.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, subject to a 6- 
month extension that it may exercise at its discretion, 
the commission established in section 2 shall, with the 
assistance of the technical panel established under 
paragraph (4), develop and issue an annotated list of 
information technology standards. 
(3) APPROVAL.—Issuance of the guidelines and 
annotated list of information technology standards 
shall require approval of at least 75 percent of the 
members of the commission. 
(4) TECHNICAL PANEL.—Not later than 1 month 
after first meeting, the Commission shall appoint and 
convene a panel of 12 technical experts, each of whom 
shall have extensive, demonstrated technical experi-
ence in developing, researching, or implementing ac-
cessible postsecondary electronic instructional mate-
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1163 
rials, or related technologies. The commission has dis-
cretion to determine a process for nominating, vet-
ting, and confirming a panel of experts that fairly 
represents the stakeholder communities on the com-
mission. The technical panel shall include a rep-
resentative from the United States Access Board. 
(f) REVIEW OF GUIDELINES.—Not later than 5 years 
after issuance of the guidelines and annotated list of infor-
mation technology standards described in subsections (a) 
and (b), and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary of Edu-
cation shall publish a notice in the Federal Register request-
ing public comment about whether there is a need to recon-
stitute the commission to update the guidelines and anno-
tated list of information technology standards to reflect 
technological advances, changes in postsecondary electronic 
instructional materials and related technologies, or updated 
national and international accessibility standards. The 
Secretary shall then submit a report and recommendation 
to Congress regarding whether the Commission should be 
reconstituted. 
(g) RULE OF APPLICATION.— 
(1) NONCONFORMING
POSTSECONDARY
ELEC-
TRONIC
INSTRUCTIONAL
MATERIALS
OR
RELATED 
TECHNOLOGIES.—Nothing in this section shall be con-
strued to require an institution of higher education to 
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1164 
require, provide, or both recommend and provide, 
postsecondary electronic instructional materials or re-
lated technologies that conform to the guidelines. 
However, an institution that selects or uses noncon-
forming postsecondary electronic instructional mate-
rials or related technologies must otherwise comply 
with existing obligations under section 504 of the Re-
habilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) and titles II 
and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 
U.S.C. 12131 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 12181 et seq.) to pro-
vide access to the educational benefit afforded by such 
materials and technologies through provision of ap-
propriate and reasonable modification, accommoda-
tion, and auxiliary aids or services. 
(2) RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING LAWS AND REG-
ULATIONS.—With respect to the Americans with Dis-
abilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), 
nothing in this Act may be construed— 
(A) to authorize or require conduct prohib-
ited under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, includ-
ing the regulations issued pursuant to those 
laws; 
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1165 
(B) to expand, limit, or alter the remedies 
or defenses under the Americans with Disabil-
ities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 
1973; 
(C) to supersede, restrict, or limit the appli-
cation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; or 
(D) to limit the authority of Federal agen-
cies to issue regulations pursuant to the Ameri-
cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Reha-
bilitation Act of 1973. 
(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ANNOTATED
LIST
OF
INFORMATION
TECH-
NOLOGY STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘annotated list of in-
formation technology standards’’ means a list of exist-
ing national and international accessibility standards 
relevant to student use of postsecondary electronic in-
structional materials and related technologies, and to 
other types of information technology common to in-
stitutions of higher education, such as institutional 
websites or registration systems, annotated by the 
commission established pursuant to this section. The 
annotated list of information technology standards is 
intended to serve solely as a reference tool to inform 
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1166 
any consideration of the relevance of such standards 
in higher education contexts. 
(2) 
POSTSECONDARY
ELECTRONIC
INSTRUC-
TIONAL MATERIALS.—The term ‘‘postsecondary elec-
tronic instructional materials’’ means digital cur-
ricular content that is required, provided, or both rec-
ommended and provided by an institution of higher 
education for use in a postsecondary instructional 
program. 
(3) RELATED
TECHNOLOGIES.—The term ‘‘re-
lated technologies’’ refers to any software, applica-
tions, learning management or content management 
systems, and hardware that an institution of higher 
education requires, provides, or both recommends and 
provides for student access to and use of postsec-
ondary electronic instructional materials in a postsec-
ondary instructional program. 
(4) TECHNICAL
PANEL.—The term ‘‘technical 
panel’’ means a group of experts with extensive, dem-
onstrated technical experience in the development and 
implementation of accessibility features for postsec-
ondary electronic instructional materials and related 
technologies, established by the Commission pursuant 
to subsection (e)(4), which will assist the commission 
in the development of the guidelines and annotated 
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list of information technology standards authorized 
under this section. 
SEC. 9010. SERVING AND SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH 
MENTAL HEALTH DISABILITIES IN INSTITU-
TIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 
(a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.— 
(1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(A) More than 75 percent of mental health 
conditions begin before the age of 24. 
(B) More than 25 percent of students be-
tween the ages of 18 and 24 reported a mental 
health concern. 
(C) More than 50 percent of students be-
tween the ages of 18 and 24 reported having a 
severe psychological problem. 
(D) More than 50 percent of students be-
tween the ages of 18 and 24 reported feelings of 
hopelessness. 
(E) Higher education counseling centers are 
devoting more time to rapid-response treatment 
with more than 25 percent of students who 
sought help reporting they had intentionally hurt 
themselves. 
(F) Over a 5-year period, counseling center 
utilization increased by an average of 30 to 40 
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1168 
percent, while enrollment increased by only 5 
percent, forcing institutions to stretch mental 
health services to more students without increas-
ing resources. 
(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are 
the following: 
(A) To ensure States and institutions of 
higher education are provided with accurate in-
formation on the mental health concerns facing 
students. 
(B) To provide detailed recommendations 
that institutions of higher education, States, and 
the Federal Government can take to improve the 
mental health services available to students and 
properly treat the rising number of students with 
mental health issues. 
(b) ADVISORY COMMISSION ON SERVING AND SUP-
PORTING STUDENTS WITH MENTAL HEALTH DISABILITIES 
IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education 
shall establish a commission to be known as the Advi-
sory Commission on Serving and Supporting Stu-
dents with Mental Health Disabilities in Institutions 
of Higher Education (referred to in this section as the 
‘‘Commission’’). 
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1169 
(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(A) TOTAL
NUMBER
OF
MEMBERS.—The 
Commission shall include not more than 20 
members, who shall be appointed by the Sec-
retary of Education in accordance with subpara-
graphs (B) and (C). 
(B) MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.—The 
Commission shall include 1 representative from 
each of the following: 
(i) The Office of Postsecondary Edu-
cation of the Department of Education. 
(ii) The Office of Special Education 
and Rehabilitation Services of the Depart-
ment of Education. 
(iii) The Office of Civil Rights of the 
Department of Education. 
(iv) The Office of Civil Rights of the 
Department of Justice. 
(v) The National Council on Dis-
ability. 
(vi) A membership association for ad-
ministrative and personnel professionals fo-
cused on creating an inclusive higher edu-
cation environment for individuals with 
disabilities, as determined by the Secretary. 
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(vii) An organization that represents 
the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals 
with Mental Illness program, as determined 
by the Secretary. 
(viii) An organization operated by and 
representing secondary and postsecondary 
education students with mental health dis-
abilities advocating for mental health serv-
ices and suicide prevention. 
(ix) An organization representing col-
lege and university counseling directors. 
(C) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS OF THE COMMIS-
SION.—In addition to the members included 
under subparagraph (B), the Commission shall 
include the following: 
(i) Four members from leadership of 
institutions of higher education who have 
demonstrated experience in successfully sup-
porting the retention and graduation of stu-
dents with mental health disabilities, in-
cluding from counseling and psychiatric 
services staff. With respect to such 4 mem-
bers, 1 member shall be a staff member of 
a 2-year degree-granting institution of high-
er education, 1 member shall be a staff 
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1171 
member from a 4-year degree-granting in-
stitution of higher education, 1 member 
shall be a member of campus law enforce-
ment, and 1 member shall serve as a general 
counsel. Such 4 members shall represent in-
stitutions of differing sizes. 
(ii) Three members from family mem-
bers of individuals who are— 
(I) enrolled in an institution of 
higher education on the date such fam-
ily member is appointed to the Com-
mission; or 
(II) former students with a men-
tal health disability. 
(iii) Four members from individuals 
with mental health disabilities, including 
not less than 2 individuals enrolled in an 
institution of higher education on the date 
of appointment to the Commission. Any re-
maining member shall be an individual 
with a mental health disability who has at-
tended an institution of higher education. 
(D) TIMING.—The Secretary of Education 
shall establish the Commission and appoint the 
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1172 
members of the Commission not later than 60 
days after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(3) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 
Commission shall select a chairperson and vice chair-
person from among the members of the Commission. 
Either the chairperson or the vice chairperson shall be 
a student or former student with a mental health dis-
ability. 
(4) MEETINGS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Commission shall 
meet at the call of the chairperson, but not less 
often than 8 times. 
(B) FIRST
MEETING.—Not later than 60 
days after the appointment of the members of the 
Commission under paragraph (2), the Commis-
sion shall hold the Commission’s first meeting. 
(5) DUTIES.—The Commission shall conduct a 
study, using the highest quality and most representa-
tive data and research available, and prepare a re-
port for the Secretary of Education that includes the 
following: 
(A) Findings from stakeholders, including 
through solicitation of public testimony, related 
to the challenges faced by students with mental 
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