# 119-hr-10203: Improving Access to Higher Education Act 119-hr-10203, Improving Access to Higher Education Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-11). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10203 - As of: 2026-09-11 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-10203 - Congress: 119 - Title: Improving Access to Higher Education Act - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2026-09-01 - Sponsor: Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10] (D-CA) - Cosponsors: 0 - Policy area: Education - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-09-11 ## Summary **Expands federal support to make postsecondary education more accessible and inclusive for students with disabilities.** It would create coordinated grant programs, a voluntary Commission on accessible instructional materials, national technical assistance and coordinating centers, and targeted grants to build inclusive programs for students with intellectual disabilities. - Students and families: Students with disabilities would gain more supported pathways to degrees and credentials, including transition services, accessible distance learning, career pathway guidance, and accommodations training. Inclusive program grants would run for five years and cap at $300,000 for a single institution or $500,000 for a consortium. - Institutions and faculty: Colleges could win competitive grants to train faculty and staff in Universal Design for Learning and evidence based practices, implement Section 508 compliant curricula and technologies, and build sustainability plans and business plans for ongoing services. - System and data: The bill would create an independent Commission to produce voluntary accessibility guidelines within 18 months, fund a National Technical Assistance Center with an authorization of $10,000,000, and establish a national coordinating center to collect longitudinal outcomes and share replication guidance. ## Provisions PRIA read - College Offices of Accessibility required: benefit, medium. If enacted, every institution would have to establish an Office of Accessibility (the campus disability services office or equivalent). The office would inform students at orientation and on a public website about available services, explain legal rights under the ADA and Section 504, provide infor… - Grants to make college courses accessible: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Department would award competitive five‑year grants to colleges to develop campuswide universal design for learning and make distance education accessible. At least five grants must fund professional development and technical assistance for faculty, staff, and administrators. Applic… - Commission for accessible course materials: benefit, medium. If enacted, an independent Commission would be created to write voluntary accessibility guidelines and an annotated list of national and international IT accessibility standards for postsecondary electronic instructional materials. The Commission would form a 12‑member technical panel within one mo… - National technical assistance center $10M: benefit, low. If enacted, the Department would authorize $10 million to set up and run a National Technical Assistance Center. The center would build a public, accessible website and database of disability services and financial aid links, provide technical help to students, families, and institutions, evaluate… - New inclusive college programs and center: mixed, medium. If enacted, the Department would award annual competitive five‑year grants to create or expand college programs for students with intellectual disabilities. Single institutions could get up to $300,000 per year and consortia up to $500,000 per year. Grantees would need to provide at least 25% match… - Reporting student disability data to IPEDS: mixed, low. If enacted, colleges would have to report key counts about students registered with disabilities to IPEDS or other federal postsecondary data sets. Required items would include total enrolled, number using accommodations, percent of undergraduates with disabilities, and the number of undergraduate… ## Related bills - 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025 - 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act - 119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026 - 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act - 119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act - 119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act ## Sources - [119-hr-10203 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/10203) ## Related - [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669) - [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977) - [119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7481) - [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973) - [119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5658) - [119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3971) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10203 (as of 2026-09-11).