CHAPTER 491
An Act to direct the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to study the processes by which each public institution of higher education determines eligibility for accommodations for students with disabilities and to identify in such processes and make recommendations to reduce any barriers to establishing eligibility.
[S 21]
Approved April 4, 2024
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (the Council) shall, in consultation with representatives of public institutions of higher education, disability advocacy organizations, students enrolled at public institutions of higher education, higher education disability accommodation professionals, and a subject matter expert to be selected by the Council, study the processes by which each public institution of higher education determines the eligibility for accommodations of an admitted or enrolled student with a temporary or permanent disability and identify in such processes and make recommendations to reduce any barriers to establishing eligibility. In conducting its study, the Council shall (i) evaluate the current processes used by such institutions for determining a student's eligibility for accommodations, including any required documentation; (ii) identify any barriers students may face in establishing eligibility for accommodations through such processes; (iii) identify any resources that may be necessary for students to overcome such barriers in establishing eligibility for accommodations; and (iv) make recommendations on (a) strategies for reducing any such barriers, including recommendations for modifications to accommodations eligibility determination processes currently used by such institutions, and (b) the development and establishment of a uniform accommodations eligibility determination process for public institutions of higher education. The Council shall submit to the Governor, the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and Education, and the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and Education and Health by October 1, 2024, a report on its findings and recommendations.