3.18.17 

Suggested lead: A new bill making its way through the Legislature could ease the burden of students with disabilities who transfer from one Washington college to another.  Dan Frizzell has more.

Wrap (:66 total): Making the jump from a community college to a four-year university can be complicated, even for students who have no disabilities.  The hassle is multiplied for those who ARE disabled, but state Representative Noel Frame worked with members of the Washington Student Association on a bill to make those transfers go a little easier. U-Dub-Tacoma student Ann Nepomuceno explained the problem Frame’s bill hopes to solve. 

ANNA NEPOMUCENO: “Students with disabilities were having issues when they transferred, as far as getting the proper documentation.  They already proved that they were disabled in the first college, and then when they were transferring they had to prove all over again that they were disabled.” [:13]

Frame, a Democrat from Seattle, introduced the legislation to extend the life of a task force charged with creating a single piece of documentation that can be accepted at colleges and universities throughout the state.  Such a form could save students the expense and difficulties involved in retrieving medical records over and over, and can help schools provide necessary accommodations from the first day of class. The bill got a unanimous OK in the House and is now being taken up in the Senate.  In Olympia, I’m Dan Frizzell.