Overview:
AB 1713, inspired by Stockton paraeducator Madellyn Hill, would require California colleges accept existing K-12 disability plans, such as IEPs and 504s, as proof of a person’s disability.
SACRAMENTO — Like many other students with disabilities, school, Madellyn Hill said she remembers, was never easy.
Since grade school, she struggled but kept going.
And after years of what she calls resilience, the Stockton paraeducator is set to graduate with her associate degree this June from Foothill College.
But not before she lives out another “dream” — advocating for students, like her, navigating disability support services at California colleges.
Making her way to the state Capitol Tuesday, Hill began her push for AB 1713. The bill, inspired by Hill and introduced by Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom (D-Tracy), would require public colleges and universities in the state to accept IEPs and 504s, a similar plan, as proof of a person’s disability.
“Being sent off for a new diagnosis, especially for students with chronic conditions, is stressful, time consuming and often costly,” said Ransom before the assembly’s higher education committee at the state Capitol Tuesday. “This is just another road block our education system sets in their way.”
Multiple studies, including one published in The Journal of Higher Education in 2024, show testing, often not covered by health insurance, can be costly. Some, as reported by the New York Times, can cost up to $10,000.
If approved, Hill said, the bill would create a “bridge” for students with disabilities, smoothing their transition into college and speeding access to accommodations.
“This is not just a bill about my story,” Hill told the committee. “It’s about the future of (the) students we serve.”
The measure, if enacted, would go into effect starting next September, as most California students gear into their fall semester. And while colleges would be barred from requiring new diagnostic tests, they could still request additional information to determine a student’s accommodation needs, the bill notes.
Kholoud Rashid, who works at a nonprofit disability service center, spoke in favor of the bill. In her line of work, Rashid said she has seen how repeatedly having to “prove” a disability can take a toll on confidence, sometimes pushing those that she works with to leave school altogether.
“What should be an exciting step often becomes frustrating and discouraging,” said Rashid.
Outside the committee hearing room, just before presenting the bill, Ransom and Hill heard from others about their experiences navigating college disability services. Some, Ransom said, described failing a class “four to five times” before they were taken “seriously.”
“This is just today,” said Ransom, gesturing to the bustle of Capitol staff outside the hearing room. “This is going to impact students across the state of California.
The bill, parsed from the “hundreds” of applications the Stockton lawmaker received in her “There Oughta Be A Law” contest, seems like a “no brainer,” Ransom said. Having received a unanimous vote from Tuesday’s committee, it now awaits another committee review focused on the bill’s cost before making its way through both legislative chambers.
“This is a gap that needed to be closed a long time ago,” said Ransom after the hearing. “If we really want our students to succeed, we need to give them every tool available to them.”