Shin bill to help disabled students becomes law

Published 10:59 am Thursday, May 23, 2013

A bill sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Paull Shin aimed at increasing accessibility for developmentally disabled students entering higher education became law when Gov. Jay Inslee signed it last week.

Shin’s bill “would assemble a taskforce of stakeholders from K-12 and postsecondary institutions with the objective of making the transition more seamless and successful for students with disabilities.”

“We need to make sure that our educational system works for all of our children,” Shin said. “A child born with a disability should have the same opportunity to succeed as any other child — they just might need a little extra help along the way.”

Shin said that only about 12 percent of people with such disabilities have a bachelor’s degree but that they often lack the physical ability to do jobs that don’t require a degree.

He said that the task force would select a statewide method of sharing best practices between education institutions, improve outreach to students and their families regarding available options in higher education, and investigate the creation of a statewide database of student disability accommodation equipment, software, and resources owned by school districts and postsecondary education institutions.

“Higher education is crucial to a young person’s success in a 21st century world, and that holds true for developmentally disabled students, too,” Shin said. “It’s not their fault that they were born with a disability and it isn’t fair to them if they don’t have the same opportunities available to them as are open to other children. We need to make sure that our education system works for them and prepares them for the rest of their lives, just as we do with all other children. All children should have the opportunity to realize the American dream.”

Shin represents the 21st Legislative District, including most of Edmonds, north Lynnwood, all of Mukilteo and part of north Everett,

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.