HOUSE BILL REPORT

EHB 2441

BYRepresentatives Jacobsen, Miller, Rector, Van Luven, Dellwo, Spanel, Anderson, Pruitt, Wood, Doty and Ferguson

Convening a task force on disabled students in higher education.

House Committe on Higher Education

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended.  (10)

      Signed by Representatives Jacobsen, Chair; Spanel, Vice Chair; Basich, Doty, Fraser, Heavey, Jesernig, Prince, Rector and Wood.

House Staff:Susan Hosch (786-7120)

Rereferred House Committee on Appropriations

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended by Committee on Higher Education.  (28)

      Signed by Representatives Locke, Chair; Grant, Vice Chair; H. Sommers, Vice Chair; Silver, Ranking Republican Member; Youngsman, Assistant Ranking Republican Member; Appelwick, Belcher, Bowman, Braddock, Brekke, Dorn, Doty, Ebersole, Ferguson, Hine, Holland, Inslee, May, McLean, Nealey, Padden, Peery, Rust, Sayan, Spanel, Valle, Wang and Wineberry.

House Staff:      Sherie Story (786-7142)

AS PASSED HOUSE FEBRUARY 12, 1990

BACKGROUND:

Students with disabilities are protected against discrimination at institutions of higher education under state and federal laws. The primary source of institutional responsibility to these students is Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  The key language provides:

No otherwise qualified handicapped individual...shall, solely by reason of his handicap be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

The provisions apply to academic programs, housing, financial aid, athletics, facility access, and other programs and activities, if the college or university receives any federal aid.

There are two major state laws affecting students with disabilities. These include the law against discrimination in public accommodations, and the state building code.  Under these laws, public colleges and universities must provide reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities.

Accommodation can take many forms.  However, no standards are in place to define reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities. Therefore, the quality and scope of accommodations provided varies among institutions.  This variance has resulted in students selecting institutions based on the level of disabled services provided, rather than on the quality of educational programs, according to a report from Central Washington University.

In 1987, an Advisory Committee to the Higher Education Coordinating Board recommended that a set of statewide standards on access and a policy for disabled students be established.  The committee also recommended the implementation of a series of technical training workshops for addressing issues of access for students with disabilities.

SUMMARY:

The Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment will convene a task force on higher education students with disabilities.  The task force will be composed of up to nine members representing students, institutions of higher education, and state agencies.  The task force may convene technical advisory committees to assist and advise it.

The duties of the task force are outlined.  The task force will recommend the roles of state agencies, institutions of higher education, and students in ensuring that students with disabilities have an opportunity to obtain a higher education.  The task force will also identify barriers to admission and retention, and recommend optimal methods of providing centralized and decentralized assistance to students and institutions.

The task force will identify publishers who are willing to provide textbooks on computer disks or on tape, and will recommend ways to encourage publishers to provide textbooks in a format accessible by students with disabilities.  The task force will also review available funding sources for assisting students with disabilities, recommend methods to coordinate those sources, and identify funding gaps.  In addition, the task force will recommend job descriptions for coordinators of disabled student services.

The task force will make a preliminary report to the Office of Financial Management by October 1, 1990. Findings and recommendations will be reported to the Governor and the Legislature by December 1, 1990.

Specified state agencies, and institutions of higher education are directed to assist and advise the task force and the technical advisory committees upon request.

These provisions will expire on June 30, 1991.

$12,000 is appropriated to the Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment for purposes of this act.

An emergency clause is added.

Appropriation:    $12,000 to the Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment.

Fiscal Note:      Available.

Effective Date:The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    (Higher Education)  Michael Freeman and Alice Trerice, Advisory Council for the Department of Services for the Blind; Annee Worsham, Whitworth College; Karen Bruno and Harold Van Auken, Washington Association of Postsecondary Educators of the Disabled; Rod Chard; Shirley Smith, Department of Services for the Blind; Michael Stewart, Council of Presidents; Noel Nightengale; Dick Barrett, Eastern Washington University; Kristy Coomes, State Library; Judy McNickle, Western Washington University; Margarita Mendoza de Sugiyama and Charles Pailthorp, The Evergreen State College; and Toby Olson, Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment.

(Appropriations)  Annee Worsham, Whitworth College; David Brown, Central Washington University; Toby Olson, Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment; Gretchen Kranjcevich, Central Washington University; and Jeanne Munro, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Department of Social and Health Services.

House Committee - Testified Against:      (Higher Education)  No one.

(Appropriations)  No one.

House Committee - Testimony For:    (Higher Education)  100,000 working age people with disabilities who are willing to work are unemployed.  The unemployment rate for disabled workers is 67 percent.  A Lou Harris poll of employers indicated that while disabled workers make superior employees, employers are unable to find educated, trained, and qualified disabled applicants.

Although access to an education is a civil right, each institution of higher education provides a different level of service to students with disabilities.  Students with disabilities tend to choose a college or university based on the services available rather than on the institution's academic programs or location. Some institutions are unable to provide adequate support to these students.  In addition, the disproportionate growth in numbers of students with disabling conditions demands a more uniform approach to the delivery of services.

The imminent passage of new federal legislation, the emerging need for more trained and better educated employees, and the need to prevent unnecessary duplication of services to students with disabilities all support the need for a task force to help define responsibilities and coordinate services.

(Appropriations)  Same as Committee on Higher Education.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      (Higher Education)  None.

(Appropriations)  None.