Legislation

A Maryland bill signed May 25, 2017. This bill established a new program to award competitive grants to institutions that create and implement inclusive pilot programs for students with IDD. Recipient institutions need to develop a program that promotes inclusion within all aspects of student life, and ensure that students have inclusive academic access, instruction, career development, campus engagement, self-determination, paid work experience, campus living, and social activities.

This bill, signed in 2016, authorizes an increase in the amount of Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarships (KEES) for students with IDD who enroll in a CTP in Kentucky. These students will be eligible for a $500 KEES if they are enrolled in at least six credit hours in a term, or $250 if they are enrolled in less than six credit hours.

Enacted in 2015, this legislation created a committee which conducted a study into PSE and employment needs for individuals with IDD from September to November 2015. It recommended that the Georgia legislature create an Employment First Georgia Council under the Georgia VR Agency.

Signed into law by Florida’s governor on January 21, 2016, the Florida Postsecondary Comprehensive Transition Program Act (the Act) (FS 1004.6495) established the Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities (FCSUA) at the University of Central Florida and charged the Center with managing the Florida Postsecondary Comprehensive Transition Program (FPCTP) application and approval process.

This legislation, enacted in June 2016, creates a pilot program at University of Northern Colorado, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and Arapahoe Community College.  The program is supported through a collaboration between the Department of Higher Education, JFK Partners, and the Colorado Initiative for Inclusive Higher Education. Program site institutions must collaborate with Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to identify VR supports and opportunities. 

This bill, introduced in 2016, would have established a Blue Ribbon Commission to develop recommendations for access and affordability.  The commission was designed to have nine members appointed equally by the governor, the Senate Committee on Rules and the speaker of the assembly and will determine amount of increased investments needed for universal postsecondary education. The commission's recommendations were to be submitted to the governor and California legislature.