Sec. 2. Findings and purposes

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Congress finds the following: Students who are low income attend institutions of higher education at a rate significantly lower than middle- and high-income students. Similarly, students who are first-generation college students or are from minority backgrounds attend institutions of higher education at lower rates than the general public. Many students who are low income, first generation, or minorities also have a disability. In the last decade, both high school and postsecondary graduation rates for students with disabilities were significantly lower than for students without disabilities.

In 2015, approximately 65 percent of the total population of adults 25 to 34 years old had completed some postsecondary education compared with approximately 44 percent of adults with disabilities in the same age range. For students with disabilities who do attend an institution of higher education, only half will receive a diploma compared to 72 percent of students without disabilities. Many researchers cite lack of support, such as in-class accommodations, accessible housing, and accessible technology, as a significant challenge as students with disabilities transition from high school to postsecondary education.

As with their peers without disabilities who are first-generation students or come from low-income backgrounds, students who are first-generation or low-income students with disabilities who receive mentoring and support services can successfully prepare for, enroll in, and graduate from postsecondary education programs and gain greater economic control of their lives. It is the sense of Congress that individuals with disabilities, particularly those who are low income or first generation, should be able to attend institutions of higher education at the same rate as their peers in the general population.

The purposes of this Act are the following: To provide first-generation or low-income students with disabilities with information, support, and resources to matriculate and complete a course of study at an institution of higher education. To encourage and support first-generation or low-income students with disabilities to achieve postsecondary credentials that benefit them and their communities both socially and economically. To increase the number of faculty with disabilities in institutions of higher education.

To provide programs authorized under chapter 1 of subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1070a–11 ) with the resources necessary to support first-generation or low-income students with disabilities to prepare for, enroll in, and graduate from institutions of higher education.

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20 USC 1070a–11

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Sec. 2

Findings and purposes

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