RISE Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1585 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 22, 2019 Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. CASSIDY, Ms. HASSAN, and Mr. YOUNG) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee 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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Respond, Innovate, 4 Succeed, and Empower Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘RISE Act 5 of 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1585.IS S1585 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1585 IS SEC. 2. PERFECTING AMENDMENT TO THE DEFINITION OF 1 DISABILITY. 2 Section 103(6) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 3 (20 U.S.C. 1003(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 4 3(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3’’. 5 SEC. 3. SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES TO 6 SUCCEED ONCE ENROLLED IN COLLEGE. 7 Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 8 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 9 following: 10 ‘‘(30) The institution will carry out the fol- 11 lowing: 12 ‘‘(A) Adopt policies that, at a minimum, 13 make the following documentation submitted by 14 an individual sufficient to establish that such 15 individual is an individual with a disability: 16 ‘‘(i) Documentation that the indi- 17 vidual has had an individualized education 18 program (IEP) in accordance with section 19 614(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities 20 Education Act, including an IEP that may 21 not be current on the date of the deter- 22 mination that the individual has a dis- 23 ability. The institution may ask for addi- 24 tional documentation from an individual 25 who had an IEP but who was subsequently 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1585.IS S1585 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1585 IS evaluated and determined to be ineligible 1 for services under the Individuals with Dis- 2 abilities Education Act, including an indi- 3 vidual determined to be ineligible during 4 elementary school. 5 ‘‘(ii) Documentation describing serv- 6 ices or accommodations provided to the in- 7 dividual pursuant to section 504 of the Re- 8 habilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) 9 (commonly referred to as a ‘Section 504 10 plan’). 11 ‘‘(iii) A plan or record of service for 12 the individual from a private school, a local 13 educational agency, a State educational 14 agency, or an institution of higher edu- 15 cation provided in accordance with the 16 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 17 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 18 ‘‘(iv) A record or evaluation from a 19 relevant licensed professional finding that 20 the individual has a disability. 21 ‘‘(v) A plan or record of disability 22 from another institution of higher edu- 23 cation. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1585.IS S1585 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1585 IS ‘‘(vi) Documentation of a disability 1 due to service in the uniformed services, as 2 defined in section 484C(a). 3 ‘‘(B) Adopt policies that are transparent 4 and explicit regarding information about the 5 process by which the institution determines eli- 6 gibility for accommodations. 7 ‘‘(C) Disseminate such information to stu- 8 dents, parents, and faculty in an accessible for- 9 mat, including during any student orientation 10 and making such information readily available 11 on a public website of the institution.’’. 12 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR THE NATIONAL 13 CENTER FOR INFORMATION AND TECHNICAL 14 SUPPORT FOR POSTSECONDARY STUDENTS 15 WITH DISABILITIES. 16 Section 777(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 17 (20 U.S.C. 1140q(a)) is amended— 18 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘From 19 amounts appropriated under section 778,’’ and in- 20 serting ‘‘From amounts appropriated under para- 21 graph (5),’’; and 22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1585.IS S1585 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1585 IS ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 1 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 2 this subsection $10,000,000.’’. 3 SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON STUDENTS WITH 4 DISABILITIES. 5 Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 6 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)), as amended by section 3, is further 7 amended by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(31) The institution will submit, for inclusion 9 in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 10 System (IPEDS) or any other Federal postsec- 11 ondary institution data collection effort, key data re- 12 lated to undergraduate students enrolled at the in- 13 stitution who are formally registered as students 14 with disabilities with the institution’s office of dis- 15 ability services (or the equivalent office), including 16 the total number of students with disabilities en- 17 rolled, the number of students accessing or receiving 18 accommodations, the percentage of students with 19 disabilities of all undergraduate students, and the 20 total number of undergraduate certificates or de- 21 grees awarded to students with disabilities. An insti- 22 tution shall not be required to submit the informa- 23 tion described in the preceding sentence if the num- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1585.IS S1585 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1585 IS ber of such students would reveal personally identifi- 1 able information about an individual student.’’. 2 SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 3 None of the amendments made by this Act shall be 4 construed to affect the meaning of the terms ‘‘reasonable 5 accommodation’’ or ‘‘record of impairment’’ under the 6 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 7 et seq.) or the rights or remedies provided under such Act. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1585.IS S1585 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS