Weekly News Updates, 2024

Top News Stories about Disability and Higher Education, October 6–19, 2024

• The Minnesota Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower (RISE) Act became law (See Section 9 and appendices of MN SF 4003 ). It will require colleges to ease disability documentation requirements, require written explanations from instructors who say they can’t provide accommodations, and let students withdraw from courses without penalty if they are denied accommodations. It also calls for development of more inclusive higher education initiatives for students with intellectual disabilities.
• There are also multiple new laws in California affecting students with disabilities:
  • Students getting disciplinary notices have the right to an adviser of their choosing during the process, and the college must provide training to the adviser (CA AB 1575 )
  • Disabled students with nine or more credit hours/units will be eligible for a $1,298 grant per semester (CA AB 1885 ).
  • State colleges and universities must meet students’ needs for food, housing, and other basic needs (CA AB 2033 ).
  • Stigmatizing mental health terms in existing state will be updated and use first-person terms (e.g., “mentally ill person” will be “person with a mental health condition”). (CA AB 2119 ).
  • State community colleges must create student equity plans focused on increasing student success, including students with disabilities. Representatives of specific groups must serve on committees creating the plans. (CA AB 2403 )
  • The California College Student Disability Program Evaluation and Training law will require public colleges and universities to evaluate disability resource offices’ costs and budgets, and to offer training programs about disability access and compliance to new employees. (CA AB 2821 )
• Saying she is unable to read and write, tell time, or count money , University of Connecticut freshman Aleysha Oritz is suing Hartford Public Schools for not providing adequate special education services and for not giving sufficient parent information in Spanish.
• In the wake of Hurricane Helene, North Carolina colleges and universities have launched multiple programs addressing mental health needs of students and employees, even as campus members are still dealing with effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• AI research and development need to include people with disabilities , says an essay in Tech Policy Press, noting that AI is learning society’s ableist definitions of intelligence, communication, and human values.
• Vincennes University’s ASL and Deaf studies programs are now based at the Indiana School for the Deaf , giving professors and students an immersive experience in Deaf culture.
• As participation in dual enrollment programs rises for students with disabilities, a new report compares public and charter schools’ rates of disabled students’ participation in SAT and ACT testing, AP and IB courses, and dual enrollment programs.
• Most college students want or already use peer supports for their mental health, so Insider Higher Ed asked an expert to share what works.
• A Master’s program for incarcerated people now says some of the students funded by Vocational Rehabilitation should not have received services, leaving them unable to get assistance and pay tuition.
• “Deafblindness” is now an official disability category in Wisconsin schools, and use of interveners facilitating access to information and environments is an official accommodation. Educators hope this facilitates better post-high school transition services and access to Vocational Rehabilitation. (A link to more information is available at the website.)
• 988 suicide and crisis line information must now be on all college ID cards at New York colleges and universities , and all employees and students must receive training about using the resource.
• In understanding addiction, the humanities and arts offer a “vital counternarratives to the clinical view of addiction,” says Professor Steven Mintz from the University of Texas at Austin.
• For students thinking about bringing emotional support animals or service animals to college , U.S. News & World Report has published some basic advice.
• In recognition of National Disability Awareness Month , Rutgers students, staff, and faculty shared one thing they’d like others to know about having a disability or being a caretaker for someone with a disability.

Top News Stories about Disability and Higher Education, September 29–October 5, 2024

• A MacArthur “genius” grant was awarded to astrophysicist Keivan Stassun , a founder of the College Autism Network who has worked on numerous higher education initiatives for neurodiverse students.
• Members of Ohio University’s Student Senate are working with 4 Paws for Ability to petition for students to use service dogs in dorms without registering them with disability services, and to allow service dogs in training to be in the dorms.
• DREDF has published a guide entitled “Know Your Rights: Mask Bans on California College Campuses,” saying the bans can be harmful for students with disabilities.
• Gender dysphoria “may be a disability” under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504, according to a rule published by the US Dept. of Health and Human Services. Seventeen states have filed a lawsuit challenging it.
• Employment rates for disabled people have risen dramatically since COVID-19 emerged, partly due to options for remote work.
• Columbia College Chicago announced it is cutting the ASL major one week after hosting a Deaf Awareness Day Celebration, with the editorial board of the campus newspaper saying elimination of ASL courses goes against campus DEI work.
• Supports for Deaf college students involve more than just accommodations , according to findings from a National Deaf Center survey of disability services professionals.
• The majority of first-year students in 2019-2020 had increased stress and anxiety due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a national study by the US Department of Education.

Top News Stories about Disability and Higher Education, September 15–21, 2024

• The AccessText Network provided digital versions of printed textbooks , but with its closure, colleges, and students are looking for alternatives.
• The Chronicle of Higher Education offers tips and strategies to make courses more inclusive for all students.
• Student services staff often provide support and trauma-informed care to students, but many of them need training and support for their own mental health needs.
• Local ASL interpreters at Imperial Valley Community College earn $35/hour, but the Board of Trustees approved an out-of-state contractor paying interpreters $110/hour to travel to campus, without any education or certification requirements.
• Architects created a neuro-inclusive educational space at Smith College , but first, they had to let go of traditional assumptions about learning and design in higher education.
• Medical students started an Inclusive Medical Coalition at Washington State University Spokane, and its work is already enhancing the training of future healthcare professionals.
• A new “one-stop shop” for Pittsburgh State University’s students centralizes advisors, resources, and offices like disability services, so students can easily find what they need at any point in their career.
• Despite not having any on-campus ASL courses , Michigan State University students have set up a weekly ASL Club to learn, practice, and build community.

Top News Stories about Disability and Higher Education, September 8–14, 2024

• College students still have high rates of mental and emotional health concerns, but The Healthy Minds study found the prevalence of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and other conditions has decreased for the second year in a row.
• The NCAA has given Gallaudet University’s football team approval for ongoing use of helmets they tested that provide players visual information from coaches.
• Physically disabled MIT math and physics major Ben Lou recently went viral for a speech in China where he said, “Society might expect that due to your disability, you won’t be able to accomplish at the same level… Brush that thought aside.”
• The federal government has banned Naviant from servicing federal loans in a $120 million settlement for deceptive practices that included negatively affecting the credit of borrowers with disabilities, including disabled veterans.
• One professor uses her personal experiences with ADHD to plan courses that will reach Gen Z students.
• How do students experience the transition to college and accessing accommodations? Students and the director of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) director shared their thoughts with NPR.
• For Suicide Awareness Month, the DocsWithDisabilities podcast will focus on suicide students in training for medical fields.
• All employee groups related to diversity, equity, and inclusion have been eliminated at the University of North Texas, but groups related to disability were not affected.
• Dual enrollment is growing , but one Boston University professor notes that multilingual learners and students with disabilities lack opportunities to participate.
• Research about diversity training in higher education and corporations suggests it’s not very effective, but some of the problem may be trying to change people instead of institutions.

Top News Stories about Disability and Higher Education, September 1–7, 2024

• Students going to out-of-state colleges or inclusive higher education programs may be eligible for services from the Vocational Rehabilitation agency in their home state, says new VR guidance.
• A disabled professor shared her experiences in a piece in Wordgathering , including going through the accommodations process and realizing universities assume only students have disabilities.
• Think College released its annual report about its 41 higher education transition program (TPSID) grantees at 39 colleges and universities. An executive summary and report of highlights are available, as well.
• What should campus administrators know about disability? Gen Z has new perspectives to offer.
• Professors still think students learn better with paper books than digital textbooks , even though less than ten percent of college courses rely solely on physical books.
• The National Women’s Law Center filed an amicus brief for scientist Dr. Vivian Cheung in her disability discrimination suit against her employer; the brief frames the case within a history of disabled Asian American women.
• SAMHSA has published a guide to preventing substance use in disabled young adults ages 18-25.
• Beacon College will air another season of “A World of Difference: Embracing Neurodiversity” on PBS in Florida.
• To create leaders in high school transition for students with disabilities , the U.S. Department of Education awarded the University of Oklahoma $6.5 million to train 20 doctoral students at six campuses.
• Medical students at the University of the Philippines have created a MediSIGN handbook teaching medical professionals enough Filipino Sign Language for basic communication with patients.

Top News Stories about Disability and Higher Education, February 18–February 24, 2024

• SUNY campuses will be investing almost $10 million annually to improve mental health services at 28 campuses, reaching over 200,000 students across New York.
• Australia has released a plan for the next ten years or more of higher education reform ; it includes need-based funding, with universities receiving more money for the number of “equity students,” including First Nations students and disabled students.
• As a Black Deaf philosophy professor , Teresa Blankmeyer Burke challenges those who see deafness as a hearing “loss” instead of Deaf “gain.”
• After detecting carcinogens in a North Carolina State University building , a local radio station reported that at least 101 people working there had cancer and over a dozen had serious illnesses.
• Can anyone recover from an eating disorder? One DePaul student with anorexia says it’s important to recognize and normalize the ongoing challenges of dealing with this serious mental illness.
• “What is the perfect academic cancer?” Professor Joy Jones-Carmack asked her husband after a diagnosis of breast cancer.
• Holograms are being used on more campuses , and Gallaudet University is among those experimenting with the technology.
• Growing up blind in India , Rajeev Annapragada is now in Columbia University’s MBA program, where mentors, friends, and accommodations are supporting his success.
• Rochester, NY police did not provide an ASL interpreter for Scott Matchett or his Deaf parents, and they believe that led to the death of their son, who was also autistic and dealing with mental illness after he started college.
• The disability discrimination claim of a Howard University student with ADHD and anxiety may move forward; it was wrongfully dismissed using local laws instead of federal ones.
• American Sign Language courses are not just about language, but also about culture, human rights, and community, says Deaf ASL Professor Brian Leffler, who won an award for his work at the University of Georgia.

Top News Stories about Disability and Higher Education, February 11–February 17, 2024

• A new student loan program from the Biden Administration will offer debt relief to students with disabilities or “high-cost burdens for essential expenses” including health care.
• Have universities “become senior centers and care homes” run by elderly professors ? Maybe not - some people are concerned about associating age and physical conditions with reduced mental capacity.
• A Master’s in Transition and Accessibility Services in Post Secondary Settings is a new program available at the University of Saint Joseph.
• The final season of the TV show “The Good Doctor” will have a new character playing an autistic medical student.
• The Jewish practice of Shabat helped University of Washington student Sophie Hulet have new perspectives of their chronic illness and an understanding of what they needed for college.
• Fewer than 3% of students with intellectual disabilities in Minnesota attend college, but a new Inclusive Higher Education Consortium hopes to change that.
• Dartmouth has reinstated a policy requiring standardized testing for admissions, but students say it contributes to structural ableism and “measures students’ disabilities, not their abilities.”
• The University of Michigan student government unanimously passed a resolution to set up a disability cultural center.
• Alcohol, pot, and mushrooms helped a college student with epilepsy, who eventually decided to rely on sobriety and “natural charm” to work through social anxiety.
• Already understaffed and underfunded , the University of Washington’s Disability Resource for Students office is seeing faculty rely more on them for things professors could do themselves.
• A change in policy wording was supposed to clarify disability services at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, but some students say it actually creates barriers and rigidity.
• Learn about The Southwest College for the Deaf , one of only three colleges in the U.S. for deaf or hard-of-hearing students.
• If your work and studies are fueled by Starbucks, you’ll be happy to know Starbucks is starting to design “inclusive” stores, and the first one in DC features art by Ryan Seslow, a Deaf art professor .

Top News Stories about Disability and Higher Education, January 28–February 3, 2024

• Utah's Republican governor signed into law an anti-DEI bill for public colleges and universities, after a history of him championing women’s rights and diversity.

• In 1988, University College Dublin set up Ireland’s first disability services while creating a national AHEAD* organization that continues today as an advocate for disabled students.

• Young adult novel Where You See Yourself features a young woman making decisions about college based on wheelchair access while navigating friendships and romance; it just won a prestigious Schneider Family Book Award from the American Library Association.

• Read a summary of a virtual conversation about the politics of disability, Black womanhood, and disability justice at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), with links to information about panelists.
• University of Georgia students with “invisible disabilities” explain what it’s like to be in college, get accommodations, and deal with stigma.
• DisabledinSTEM on X and Purdue University are groups working to make labs accessible for disabled STEM researchers.
• Many college students don’t know how to request accommodations in jobs, but Teen Vogue explains what students need to know and ways to address “structural ableism in the workplace.”
• New research suggests engineering and technical Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses may help students with learning disabilities transition to college.
• The College of Saint Rose’s program for students with intellectual disabilities will continue in New York despite the college closing, moving to Russell Sage College.
• Binghamton University has a new Neurodiversity Club , which meets regularly with the existing Disabled Student Union and American Sign Language (ASL) Club.

* AHEAD in Ireland is not affiliated with the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD) in the United States.

Top News Stories about Disability and Higher Education, January 21–27, 2024

• A new director of disability, culture, and inclusion has started at Johns Hopkins University, and he brings his own experiences as a disabled first-generation college student to his work.
• Students experiencing discrimination have more severe mental health concerns compared to their peers, according to a new report from Penn State University (click here to go directly to the report ).
• The blind professor leading Australian group Universities Enable says universities need more involvement of disabled academics and a community-led advisory mechanism for implementing disability policy.
• Disability studies in Serbia is expanding, thanks to work by the University of Novi Sad, Penn State Leigh Valley, and CUNY.
• Some seminaries have added courses or degrees on disability theology and ministry.
• Even when Deaf Filipinos make it to university , there’s usually no access to interpreters or other services.
• The Youth Disability Advocacy and Research Network at Bournemouth University in the UK works on disability issues in East Africa; they have published videos of Disability and Media workshops held last year.

Also of note: People who use American Sign Language can now access ASL services at the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by going to 988lifeline.org or calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255) with a VideoPhone (VP). The NCCSD will soon be adding this to our list of crisis resources at https://nccsd.ici.umn.edu/crisis-resources.

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