Revised Higher Ed Act gives more college access to students with disabilities

From the Chronicle of Higher Ed news blog:

Washington — Tucked inside the vast bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act that now awaits President Bush’s signature are several provisions designed to improve disabled students’ access to higher education.

The bill would, for the first time, allow students with intellectual disabilities to receive some types of federal aid: Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and work-study assistance. Under some circumstances, for example, mentally retarded students in formal transition or living-skills programs would now qualify for federal financial aid.

The bill would also establish two national entities to support students with disabilities — a National Center for Information and Technical Support for Postsecondary Students With Disabilities, and an Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials. In addition, the bill would support “model demonstration programs” to improve the quality of instructional materials and to allow colleges and universities to collaborate in their development.

Under current regulations, former students who struggle to pay off educational loans because they are disabled must, to get those loans discharged, demonstrate that their conditions will result in death or last indefinitely. The new bill, however, would allow loans to be discharged if a borrower’s condition is expected to last at least five years.

A bill more narrowly focused on disability services passed the U.S. House of Representatives in June and awaits a vote in the Senate. That legislation would also expand benefits for students with disabilities. It was intended to reverse judicial rulings that it says “have narrowed the broad scope of protection intended to be afforded” by the Americans With Disabilities Act, which was passed in 1990.