Skip to main content
HR 4643 116th Congress House Education Advisory bodies Computers and information technology Disability and health-based discrimination Disability and paralysis Education programs funding Educational technology and distance education Government information and archives Higher education Judicial procedure and administration Student records Teaching, teachers, curricula

Improving Access to Higher Education Act of 2019

Introduced: October 11, 2019 Introduced by: DeSaulnier, Mark Democratic · California See on congress.gov
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Oct 11, 2019
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Oct 11, 2019
Introduced in House
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Improving Access to Higher Education Act of 2019

This bill addresses accessibility issues of students with disabilities in higher education.

Specifically, the bill revises a grant program that supports postsecondary institutions of higher education (IHE) in educating students with disabilities. The Department of Education must award at least five grants to an IHE that provides professional development and technical assistance in order to improve access to and completion of postsecondary education for students, including students with disabilities.

The bill also (1) revises and reauthorizes through FY2024 a program for national technical assistance centers that assist students with disabilities, and (2) reauthorizes through FY2024 a program to promote training and job placement of real-time writers to provide closed captioning of videos.

Further, the bill establishes a new program that awards grants to IHEs for certain activities that improve accessibility of instruction and materials, such as distance education courses. The bill also establishes an independent commission to develop guidelines for accessible postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies.

In addition, the bill requires each IHE to establish an office of accessibility to develop and implement policies that support students with disabilities.

What's happening now October 11, 2019

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Cosponsors 4
All 4 Democratic 4