Legislation

Introduced in 2019, but not passed, this bill would require that at least two Minnesota state colleges and universities offer an academic program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities must select the specific institutions, who will have admit at least 15 incoming students to their new postsecondary program for students with IDD each year. The programs must offer an inclusive, two-year full-time residential experience to students and should enable them to engage fully in campus life.

This law enacted in June 2019 directs the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to create an advisory council on postsecondary education for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The advisory council will be tasked with developing educational outreach materials to raise awareness in Texas of PSE opportunities for individuals with IDD, and the Board will be responsible for distributing them.

Two identical bills introduced in January 2019, these would prohibit postsecondary institutions from denying a student residential housing on campus or an affiliated location solely because the student has received a Tennessee STEP UP scholarship. STEP UP is a state scholarship that supports students with intellectual disabilities who finish high school and enroll in a CTP at the University of Tennessee, the University of Memphis, Vanderbilt University, Lipscomb University, or Union University.

A bill introduced in January 2019, this legislation would have established terms for the South Carolina Promise Scholarship Program, which would enable students from the general population (not just those with disabilities) to receive a postsecondary education scholarship. Recipients must be enrolled for at least six credit hours and must have a high school or equivalent within two years of applying for the scholarship. They must also maintain a 2.0 GPA and may not have already received a bachelor’s degree.

This bill, expired in 2019, would have required the Governor of Maryland to include funding in the annual state budget for a new competitive grant program that will fund supplemental services and supports for students with disabilities at Maryland community colleges. The funding amount in the budget would be at least $2,500,000 each year, beginning in FY 2021, and the grant program would be administered by the Maryland Higher Education Commission.

Introduced in January 2017, this bill increases the maximum income tax deduction that is allowed for contributions to a disability expense account or federally tax-advantaged college savings plan in Ohio. The legislation doubles the permitted maximum income tax deduction from $2,000 to $4,000 per year for each beneficiary. It also creates a Joint Committee on Ohio College Affordability to review and recommend strategies to lower the cost of attending college.

Enrolled in 2017, this bill extends eligibility for the Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) to certain individuals with intellectual disabilities. These individuals must be enrolled in a comprehensive transition and postsecondary program (CTP) in order to qualify.

Introduced in January 2018, this legislation would create a statewide commission on persons with disabilities. Every three years the commission will produce a comprehensive integrated statewide plan to address disability policy needs at all stages of life. The plan will inform the Governor of Washington’s decisions concerning disability policy. The commission will also produce an annual report on public policies, programs, services, rules and regulations that affect people with disabilities in Washington.

Expired in 2019, this bill would have required the trustees of the State University of New York (SUNY) and the City University of New York (CUNY) to create regulations that would establish a two-year college experience program for students with developmental disabilities at each SUNY and CUNY postsecondary education institution. The college experience programs the schools develop must include practical living skills in its academic curriculum, including but not limited to cooking, personal finance, health and wellness, and interpersonal communications.