At Virginia’s public institutions of higher education, the process of determining eligibility for accommodations occurs in two main steps: 1) establish that a student has a disability and 2) determine the appropriate accommodations for the individual student. Given students’ varied experiences at different Virginia public institutions of higher education (IHEs) regarding their eligibility for disability services and the required processes and documentation to establish such eligibility, the General Assembly enacted into law a study bill during the last legislative session.

House Bill(HB) 509/Senate Bill(SB) 21 directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to study the first step: “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." SCHEV convened a workgroup of accessibility professionals and students over the past four months to: define best practices; survey accessibility offices as to whether and how best practices are used at their respective Virginia public institutions of higher education; and identify barriers that exist for students and staff. The survey data, as well as feedback from various higher education and accessibility stakeholders, informed this report and the recommendations herein.

Overarching recommendation: The workgroup does not recommend establishing uniform accommodations eligibility determination processes for public institutions of higher education. Uniform processes would be too blunt of an instrument given that, by and large, institutions report using best practices with flexibility to meet student needs and unique circumstances.

However, in all cases an Individualized Education Program (IEP) updated in the last three years should be accepted as evidence of a disability. An IEP may not be sufficient to establish eligibility for specific requested accommodations. A student in college may not get the same accommodations they had in high school.

Subsequent recommendations: The workgroup offers the recommendations below relative to a series of distinct inflection points in the educational journey of students with disabilities: K-12; transition to college; and college.

• Develop, strengthen and scale transition programs/programming for students with disabilities in high school and college.

• Create education opportunities, training and/or resources for staff and students that shift the paradigm from mere compliance to comprehensive support and inclusion.

• Obtain additional student input on current IHE processes to establish eligibility for disability services.