Boston, Massachusetts July 28,2022
Today Governor Baker signed into law a bill giving students with intellectual disabilities and/or autism the opportunity to attend public colleges and universities making Massachusetts the first in the nation to do so. This was the result of tireless of work of many people and organizations giving these students the same opportunity as every other student in Massachusetts.
This law is as ground breaking as the original Special Education Law but now allows education beyond high school for student with IDD and autism. I along with many others have been working on this legislation since 2006 with the passing of the Massachusetts Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative (MAICEI) and I have written various articles exploring the effect of higher education for individuals with intellectual disabilities.[1][2][3][4][5]
The new law allows individuals with severe intellectual disabilities, severe autism spectrum disorders or other severe developmental disabilities to participate in undergraduate academic courses, internships, work-based trainings, extracurricular activities and all other aspects of campus life that include other students not participating under this section, such individuals shall not be required to: (i) take any standardized college entrance aptitude test; (ii) have a high school diploma or its equivalent; (iii) meet high school course requirements; (iv) meet minimum grade point average requirements; or (v) obtain a passing score on the statewide assessment tests utilized as a basis for acceptance.
An individual shall not be denied an opportunity to participate in higher education solely due to the individual’s disability status. Public institutions of higher education, in consultation with the department of higher education and consistent with the purposes of this section, shall also establish course selection guidelines to ensure that participating individuals select courses that are appropriate to their individual strengths, needs, preferences and interests.
The budget for FY 23 adds four million dollars to support inclusion of participating students in academic courses, extracurricular activities and other aspects of campus life, individual supports and services shall be provided to individuals participating in higher education.
This law also allows students over the age of 22 to attend college as well.
For full law click here
Special Thanks to:
Rep Sean Garballey, Rep. Pat Haddad, Sen. Mike Rodrigues, Rep. Aaron Michelwitz, Chairs of Higher Education, Rep. Dave Rogers and Sen. Anne Gobi, Sen. Pres. Karen Spilka, Speaker Ron Mariano, Gov. Baker, Julia Landau, Erin Riley, Jeremy Spittle, MDSC, ArcMass and many others.
This is an incredible opportunity and a game changer for so many, including my son – I cannot thank Gov Baker and everyone involved with crafting this Law enough!!!
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for giving my son the opportunity so many others take for granted!
Thanks Tom. Had it not been for you we would never have gotten here.
Thanks, Pat. You were a driving force in this process as well. Many dedicated people worked to make this happen and it happened because they knew it was needed.
Thank you for your hard work and efforts toward making this happen ! This is fantastic !
Thank you so much for your tireless work in this area!
Jon Cash
Interim Director
EXCEL Program
So I’m a bit confused. Do others who don’t graduate high school have this opportunity?
Does this take away from acceptances of other students who are qualified?
Is this to take classes or matriculation path?
Inclusion is good but should not be at the costs of reducing standards. Standards need to continue to be raised to bring out successful people with strong education, work ethics, empathy and more. We need people who can build, be creative, and understanding.
College is not a requirement or needed in life. There are trade schools and other paths. College doesn’t guarantee work nor a good employee, creativity, skills.
You raise some important questions that need to be discussed to understand how all of us benefit from this law. First, let me address that college is not for everyone, and there is an importance of trade schools and other paths for individuals with IDD and/or autism as well as for individuals without disabilities.
Secondly, inclusion is important and benefits not only the individual included but others in the class as well. This effort does not lessen any standards. Any class that includes a student under this law will not be altered in a way to lessen any academic standard for any student. Our experience has been that it actually improves the class for all students. In Massachusetts, under the original grant program, we have had more than 2,000 students with IDD and/or autism included in classes in our public colleges and universities.
In order to matriculate these students would have to meet the same criteria as every other matriculating student. As we have seen from our previous experience in Massachusetts, some students given this opportunity are able to get their GED or otherwise make the matriculation requirements of the college.
This does not take away from any other qualified students and no places are taken away from matriculating students.
The difference between this and other students who do not make graduation requirements are that these students were not able to make high school graduation requirements because of their disability. This program puts students with disabilities at the same level as students without disabilities as far as access to college.
How this program benefits all because students who have this opportunity are more independent and less reliant on government resources. One study shows that they more likely to be employed and require $100 less per month in SSI benefits.
Thanks so much for making this possible
This is incredible. Thank you so much for all of your hard work. What an amazing accomplishment.
This made me smile , it’s scary thinking about the future at times, not going to lie actually a lloy more then I let onto. This has opened a door that we didn’t have before and I am so thankful for all the effort and time and commitment in making this happen . This is why I love Massachusetts! Thank you from my family !
As the parent of a special needs student who works incredibly hard in school. we have been worrying so much hat what our child wants to do with her life post-high school might never be possible without the kind of support she receives now at a college level. Her standardized testing and all those common “across the board” benchmarks that apply to so much of the academic world do not reflect what she is truly capable of, the work she puts in, the potential she has. I thank all the people that made this possible from the bottom of my heart for giving kids like mine the opportunity to take their dreams and ambitions further and to help them succeed beyond basic undergrad education if they so choose.
Californians hope to have an extensive and comprehensive law as Massachusetts. Our young adults are missing out great after high school opportunities. Currently, we do have programs for transition but not enough to prepare our young adults w/ ASD for a life long self sufficient individuals.
Thank you to all who worked to get this passed. This is a game charger for so many young adults. People of Massachusetts this is an incredible accomplishment.
Thanks for a wonderful article Tom. This program has changed so many lives for students with IDD in Massachusetts. Kudos to all who have helped this program grow!
Thanks for leading the implamentation of this effort over these past many years!
As a state employee working with 18-22 year olds through DDS, I just want to say THANK YOU! to everyone who was involved with this. What an awesome opportunity for so many young people, those with disabilities and their neurotypical peers. Visibility and inclusion matter!
Thank you to all who made this possible!!
Great news, but I need a clarification. The article says: “participate in college classes” and does not require high school. So does this mean that children with ASD and IDD can only attend lessons but not graduate?
If they can meet the entrance requirements and from our experience in Massachusetts, some students can ultimately meet the matriculation requirements and get college credit and even graduate.
Thank you Governor Baker, the people of Massachusetts, Tom and all that worked tirelessly on this effort!
As a parent of an 11 year old daughter with Down syndrome who has been tirelessly advocating and volunteering for her inclusion and learning supports since age 2, this groundbreaking accomplishment in Massachusetts make me ever more excited and hopeful that she can fulfill a pathway to a truly independent life. And one where she is a valuable and contributing member of society.
Providing this access in a public system of the quality of Massachusetts is vital as most parents of people with IDD will not be able to afford the tremendous expense of the few private higher education institutions available such as George Mason, Clemson, and Syracuse.
Inclusion benefits everyone. We are all unique and different in our own ways, and each of us need various supports at different times in life.
Thank you again for making this happen. We are forever indebted to your efforts. I hope more States take this lead and follow through.
My daughter participated in the Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Program at MWCC in 2010 and 2011. Her experiences were life changing. ❤️ Thank you for all the work you did while in the statehouse to make this opportunity available!
Thanks!