Advisory council advances four draft recommendations to expand postsecondary access for students with intellectual disabilities

Sabrina Gonzalez Saledto, presiding officer of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Advisory Council on Postsecondary Education for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, called the May 29 meeting to order and led a review of four draft recommendations the council plans to include in a report to the Legislature.

The proposals aim to make inclusive postsecondary programs more transferable, better funded and easier for institutions to build and sustain. "As newer inclusive postsecondary programs come to fruition, there isn't one clear recognized standard for what a credential of value looks like," Gonzalez Saledto said, framing the council's first proposal to clarify credentialing and support credit transfer across campuses.

Why it matters: the council is advising THECB and lawmakers on policies affecting students with intellectual disabilities who enroll in inclusive postsecondary (IPS) programs and federally designated Comprehensive Transition Programs (CTPs). Members noted that federal CTP requirements and institutional practices vary widely, complicating student access to meaningful academic or workforce credentials.

Key recommendation takeaways:

- Credentials and credit transfer: Members urged lawmakers to back clear, industry-relevant credential definitions and to promote transfer agreements so students in IPS/CTP programs can earn recognized credits. Participants described campus-level obstacles (for example, campus financial aid or admissions offices that decline to award credit to students not matriculated as traditional undergraduates) and urged language that anticipates transfer pathways (2+2 or 1+3 models).

- Fund the Building Better Futures grant (House Bill 2081): The council reminded members that the 89th Legislature established the Building Better Futures program but did not appropriate money to distribute grants. "The legislature passed House Bill 2081, establishing the building better futures program," a member noted; participants recommended the council ask THECB or the Legislature to identify an appropriate appropriation rather than leaving the grant unfunded.

- Texas technical assistance hub at THECB: Members proposed a state-level technical assistance hub to translate national guidance (for example, from Think College) into Texas-specific guidance for financial aid, accreditation, reporting and grant-writing. Supporters said a Texas-based hub would lend credibility and provide the hands-on staff-level translation many campuses need to set up and sustain programs.

- Improve THECB reporting on students with ID: Council members described inconsistent counting that leaves many IPS students out of THECB's census-based data because programs and students are not captured on the 12th-day enrollment snapshot. Recommended fixes included clarifying THECB's reporting manual, creating a separate reporting pathway or code for IPS students, and requiring a centralized campus contact to coordinate data submissions.

Council process and next steps: members did not vote on final report language during the meeting. Instead, they agreed to form a smaller working group to refine recommendation text, gather examples from other states (members cited Oklahoma and Florida models), and bring recommended language back for a future vote. The council scheduled a follow-up meeting for July 17 to continue finalizing the report.

At the meeting, members repeatedly stressed the importance of drafting policy-focused, implementable language and, where helpful, including a fiscal ask or range rather than a purely aspirational request. The council also recommended clarifying whether THECB should include funding requests in the agency's appropriation package or ask the Legislature directly.