A 4841: Establishes the "removing barriers to higher education success act" which directs the state university and city university to adopt policies that makes certain documentation submitted by an enrolled or admitted student sufficient to establish that such student is an individual with a disability; establishes a program to provide transition services for students with disabilities entering higher education.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4841 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY February 6, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT establishing the "removing barriers to higher education success act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "removing barriers to higher education success act". 3 § 2. Definition. For purposes of this act, "public institution of 4 higher education" shall mean the state university of New York and the 5 city university of New York. 6 § 3. Students with disabilities policy and documentation; dissem- 7 ination of information. 1. Each public institution of higher education 8 shall adopt a policy that makes any of the documentation described in 9 subdivision two of this section submitted by an enrolled or admitted 10 student sufficient to establish that such student is an individual with 11 a disability. 12 2. Such policy required pursuant to subdivision 1 of this section 13 shall provide that any of the following documentation submitted by an 14 enrolled or admitted student is sufficient to establish that the student 15 is an individual with a disability: 16 (a) documentation that the individual has had an individualized educa- 17 tion program (IEP) in accordance with section 614(d) of the Individuals 18 with Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400 et seq. The public insti- 19 tution of higher education may request additional documentation from an 20 individual who has had an IEP if the IEP was not in effect immediately 21 prior to the date when the individual exited high school; 22 (b) documentation that the individual has received services or accom- 23 modations provided to the individual under a Section 504 plan provided 24 to the individual pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 25 1973, 29 USC 701 et seq. The public institution of higher education may EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06733-01-5 
 A. 4841 2 1 request additional documentation from an individual who has received 2 services or accommodations provided to the individual under a Section 3 504 plan if the Section 504 plan was not in effect immediately prior to 4 the date when the individual exited high school; 5 (c) documentation of a plan or record of service for the individual 6 from a private school, a local educational agency, a state educational 7 agency, or an institution of higher education provided under a Section 8 504 plan pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or in 9 accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; 10 (d) a record or evaluation from a relevant licensed professional find- 11 ing that the individual has a disability; 12 (e) a plan or record of disability from another institution of higher 13 education; or 14 (f) documentation of a disability due to military service in the 15 uniformed services. 16 3. The policy adopted pursuant to subdivision 1 of this section shall 17 be transparent and explicit regarding information about the process by 18 which the public institution of higher education determines eligibility 19 for accommodations for an individual with a disability. Each public 20 institution of higher education shall disseminate such information to 21 students, parents, and faculty in accessible formats, including during 22 any student orientation, and make the information readily available on a 23 public website of the institution. 24 4. A public institution of higher education may establish less burden- 25 some criteria than the criteria described in this section to establish 26 whether an enrolled or admitted student is an individual with a disabil- 27 ity. 28 § 4. Establishment of reasonable accommodation. A public institution 29 of higher education shall engage in an interactive process to establish 30 a reasonable accommodation, including requesting additional documenta- 31 tion, if needed, for an individual pursuant to section 504 of the Reha- 32 bilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. 33 § 5. Construction with federal law. Nothing in this act shall be 34 construed to conflict with the terms "reasonable accommodation" and 35 "record of such an impairment" under the Americans with Disabilities Act 36 of 1990 or the rights or remedies provided under the Americans with 37 Disabilities Act of 1990. 38 § 6. This act shall take effect January 1, 2026. Effective immediate- 39 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation 40 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are 41 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.