RISE Act — CivicLens

Federal

RISE Act

Source: Congress.gov · 1,169 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill amends the Higher Education Act to help students with disabilities and their families get the information they need to choose a college and do well once enrolled. The bill makes it easier for students with disabilities to show they qualify for accommodations and requires colleges to share information about disability services.

Who It Affects

Students with disabilities and their families, colleges and universities that receive federal funding, college disability services offices, the National Center for Information and Technical Support for Postsecondary Students with Disabilities.

Key Provisions

• Colleges must accept several types of documents to prove a student has a disability, including past individualized education programs (IEPs), Section 504 plans, records from other colleges, and evaluations from licensed professionals (Sec. 3) • Colleges must have clear, written policies about how they determine whether students qualify for disability accommodations and must share this information with students, parents and faculty in accessible formats on their websites (Sec. 3) • Colleges must report data about students with disabilities to the federal government's education database, including how many students with disabilities are enrolled, how many receive accommodations and how many graduate (Sec. 5) • $10,000,000 is authorized to be spent to support the National Center for Information and Technical Support for Postsecondary Students with Disabilities (Sec. 4)

What Changes

Colleges will have to accept specific types of disability documentation without requesting additional paperwork in many cases. Colleges will need to make their disability services information public and easy to find. The federal government will collect standardized information about students with disabilities at each college.

Important Definitions

Accommodations: changes or adjustments that help a student with a disability access education equally. Individualized Education Program (IEP): a legal document that outlines special education services for students with disabilities in elementary and secondary school.

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1071 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 MARCH 30, 2023 Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. CASSIDY, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. MAR- KEY, Mr. KAINE, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the fol- lowing 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. 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’’ or the ‘‘RISE Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Apr 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1071.IS S1071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1071 IS SEC. 2. PERFECTING AMENDMENT TO THE DEFINITION OF 1 DISABILITY. 2 Section 103(6) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 3 (20 U.S.C. 1003(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 4 3(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3’’. 5 SEC. 3. SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES TO 6 SUCCEED ONCE ENROLLED IN COLLEGE. 7 Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 8 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 9 following: 10 ‘‘(30)(A) The institution will carry out the fol- 11 lowing: 12 ‘‘(i) Adopt policies that make any of the 13 following documentation submitted by an indi- 14 vidual sufficient to establish that such indi- 15 vidual is an individual with a disability: 16 ‘‘(I) Documentation that the indi- 17 vidual has had an individualized education 18 program (IEP) in accordance with section 19 614(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities 20 Education Act, including an IEP that may 21 not be current on the date of the deter- 22 mination that the individual has a dis- 23 ability. The institution may ask for addi- 24 tional documentation from an individual 25 who had an IEP but who was subsequently 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Apr 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1071.IS S1071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1071 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 22:28 Apr 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1071.IS S1071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1071 IS ‘‘(VI) Documentation of a disability 1 due to service in the uniformed services, as 2 defined in section 484C(a). 3 ‘‘(ii) Adopt policies that are transparent 4 and explicit regarding information about the 5 process by which the institution determines eli- 6 gibility for accommodations. 7 ‘‘(iii) Disseminate such information to stu- 8 dents, parents, and faculty in an accessible for- 9 mat, including during any student orientation 10 and making such information readily available 11 on a public website of the institution. 12 ‘‘(B) Nothing in this paragraph shall be con- 13 strued to preclude an institution from establishing 14 less burdensome criteria than that described in sub- 15 paragraph (A) to establish an individual as an indi- 16 vidual with a disability and therefore eligible for ac- 17 commodations.’’. 18 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR THE NATIONAL 19 CENTER FOR INFORMATION AND TECHNICAL 20 SUPPORT FOR POSTSECONDARY STUDENTS 21 WITH DISABILITIES. 22 Section 777(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 23 (20 U.S.C. 1140q(a)) is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Apr 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1071.IS S1071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1071 IS (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘From 1 amounts appropriated under section 778,’’ and in- 2 serting ‘‘From amounts appropriated under para- 3 graph (5),’’; and 4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 6 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 7 this subsection $10,000,000.’’. 8 SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON STUDENTS WITH 9 DISABILITIES. 10 Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 11 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)), as amended by section 3, is further 12 amended by adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(31) The institution will submit, for inclusion 14 in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 15 System (IPEDS) or any other Federal postsec- 16 ondary institution data collection effort, key data re- 17 lated to undergraduate students enrolled at the in- 18 stitution who are formally registered as students 19 with disabilities with the institution’s office of dis- 20 ability services (or the equivalent office), including 21 the total number of students with disabilities en- 22 rolled, the number of students accessing or receiving 23 accommodations, the percentage of students with 24 disabilities of all undergraduate students, and the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Apr 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1071.IS S1071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1071 IS total number of undergraduate certificates or de- 1 grees awarded to students with disabilities. An insti- 2 tution shall not be required to submit the informa- 3 tion described in the preceding sentence if the num- 4 ber of such students would reveal personally identifi- 5 able information about an individual student.’’. 6 SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 7 None of the amendments made by this Act shall be 8 construed to affect the meaning of the terms ‘‘reasonable 9 accommodation’’ or ‘‘record of impairment’’ under the 10 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 11 et seq.) or the rights or remedies provided under such Act. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Apr 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1071.IS S1071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.