H-4368

AN ACT Relating to students with disabilities; adding new sections to chapter 28B.10 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that many students attending institutions of higher education in the state of Washington have one or more physical or mental disabilities. It is therefore the intent of the legislature to provide clear guidance for institutions of higher education in fulfilling their obligations to students with disabilities. Such guidance is intended to clarify the appropriate action needed to comply with state and federal laws regarding students with disabilities. It is the intent of the legislature to require institutions to provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities if the institution can provide those accommodations without undue hardship or undue financial burden on the institution. The legislature therefore provides policy guidance and suggestions for providing reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout sections 2 through 5 of this act.

(1) "Disability" means:

(a) A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual;

(b) A record of such an impairment; or

(2) "Discrimination" means:

(a) The imposition or application of eligibility criteria that screens out or tends to screen out an individual with a disability or any class of individuals with disabilities from fully and equally enjoying curricular, extracurricular, or cocurricular activities at an institution; or

(b) The failure to make reasonable modification in policies, practices, or procedures, if such modifications are necessary to provide an opportunity for a disabled person or persons to participate in curricular, extracurricular, or cocurricular activities; or

(c) A failure to take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that an individual with a disability is not excluded, denied services, segregated, or otherwise treated differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services; or

(d) A failure to remove architectural barriers in existing facilities, if readily achievable, and a failure to remove architectural barriers in the design and completion of new facilities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Each student with one or more disabilities is entitled to receive core services only if the service is reasonably needed to accommodate the student's disabilities. The responsibility for requesting a core service in a timely manner is on the disabled student.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities shall be provided as appropriate for all aspects of college and university-sponsored activities, including but not limited to: Recruitment materials; the application, enrollment, and registration processes; financial aid; course work; research; academic counseling; housing; and cocurricular and extracurricular activities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Each institution of higher education shall ensure that students with disabilities are reasonably accommodated by that institution. The institution shall, as a minimum, provide one or more of the following core services for any student who qualifies as a disabled student, identifies himself or herself to the institution as a disabled student, and is recognized by the institution as needing the service due to the student's disability.

Core services shall include, but may not be limited to:

(1) Flexible procedures in the admissions process including consideration in the alternative admissions program, if such consideration is appropriate;

(2) Early registration, including priority registration, assistance, and assistance with drop-add week registration, if necessary;

(3) Sign language and oral and tactile interpreter services;

(4) Textbooks and other educational materials in alternative media, including, but not limited to, large print, braille, optical storage media, and audiotape;

(5) Provision of readers, note takers, scribes, and proofreaders including recruitment, training, and coordination;

(6) Ongoing review and coordination of efforts to improve campus accessibility, including but not limited to, all aspects of barrier-free design, signage, identification of hazards surrounding mobility barriers, maintenance of access during construction, snow and ice clearance, and adequate disability parking for access to all facilities or an alternative method of transportation to all facilities if disability parking is not readily achievable;

(7) Facilitation of physical access including, but not limited to, relocation of classes, institution-sponsored activities, and services to accessible facilities;

(8) Orientation to the campus at the beginning of a quarter or semester and when route of travel needs change;

(9) Access to and training in the use of adaptive equipment including, but not limited to, TDDs, FM communicators, closed caption devices, amplified telephone receivers, closed circuit television magnification systems, low-vision reading aids, player/recorders for 15/16, four-track tapes, photocopy machines able to use eleven-by-seventeen inch paper, brailling devices, and computer enhancements;

(10) Referral to appropriate on-campus and off-campus resources, services, and agencies;

(11) Arrangement of educational materials in advance including, but not limited to, syllabi and study guides released in advance, access to slides, films, overheads, and other media and taping of lectures;

(12) Tutoring, mentoring, peer counseling, and academic advising available on campus accessible to students with disabilities. Students with disabilities may need additional academic services beyond the legal minimum that are necessary to maintain suitable academic progress toward a degree, particularly counseling;

(13) Test-taking arrangements;

(14) Referral to an organization for diagnostic assessment and documentation of disability;

(15) Flexibility in timelines for completion of course, certification, and degree requirements;

(16) Flexibility in credit load requirements and eligibility periods for financial aid that are within the control of the institution; and

(17) Notification of the institution's policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of disability and of steps the student may take if he or she believes discrimination has taken place. This notice shall be included in all correspondence that communicates decisions or policies affecting the student's status or rights with the institution. This notice shall include the addresses and phone numbers of the appropriate state and federal agencies responsible for enforcing discrimination complaints including but not limited to, the United States department of education, the United States office of civil rights, and the Washington state human rights commission.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Sections 2 through 5 of this act are each added to chapter 28B.10 RCW.