H-3366

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

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. Each institution of higher education shall ensure that students with disabilities are reasonably accommodated within that institution. The institution shall, as a minimum, provide one or more of the following core services for any student who is identified by the institution as needing the service due to the student's disabilities.

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

(1) Flexible procedures in the admissions process that use a holistic review of the student's potential as part of the institution's goal to achieve diversity, including appropriate consideration in the alternative admissions program;

(2) Early registration and early follow-up registration and assistance (priority registration);

(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, and audio tape;

(5) Provision of readers, notetakers, 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, high contrast identification of hazards of mobility barriers, maintenance of access during construction, snow and ice clearance, and adequate disability parking for all facilities;

(7) Facilitation of physical access including, but not limited to, relocating of classes, activities, and services to accessible facilities and orientation to the campus at the beginning of a quarter or semester and when route of travel needs change;

(8) Access to adaptive equipment including, but not limited to, TDDs, FM communicators, closed caption devices, amplified telephone receivers, closed circuit televisions, low vision reading aids, player/recorders for 15/16, 4-track tapes, photocopy machines able to use eleven-by-seventeen inch paper, brailling devices, and computer enhancements;

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

(10) 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;

(11) 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;

(12) Test taking arrangements;

(13) Referral to diagnostic assessment and documentation of disability;

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

(15) Flexibility in load requirements and eligibility periods for financial aid; and

(16) 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 phone numbers of the United States department of education, the United States office of civil rights, and the Washington state human rights commission.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Each student with one or more disabilities is entitled to receive a core service only if the service is reasonably needed to accommodate the student's disabilities. The responsibility for providing a core service in a timely manner shall be shared equally by the requesting student and the educational institution or agency providing the service.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities shall be provided as appropriate for all aspects of college and university life, including but not limited to: Recruitment, the application process, enrollment, registration, financial aid, course work, research, academic counseling, housing, and nonacademic programs and services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Sections 1 through 3 of this act are each added to chapter 28B.10 RCW.