91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½

The 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ endorsed a earlier this month that will allow disabled students with accommodations to reduce their course load and still receive their Pell Grants and receive funding for longer.

Pell Grants fund students who come from families with low to moderate incomes. They are one of the , especially those who come from historically marginalized groups.

, students must enroll full time. However, students with disabilities often need to enroll part time, resulting in less funding.

Students with at the same rate as students without disabilities; however, only s. This disparity is a result of many barriers, such as , but financial struggles top the list.

Similar to students without disabilities, students with disabilities experience food and housing insecurities; but compared with their counterparts, .

Constituting , students with disabilities need to be prioritized.

The bill introduced in the U.S. House by  Rep. Joseph Morelle, D-N.Y., would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965, extending the period a student may receive Pell Grants to more than 12 semesters while being enrolled part time, resulting in more students with disabilities receiving funding for longer.

The 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ endorsed the bill saying that the legislation will “contribute to the retention and degree completion of students with disabilities.”

Stephan Smith, executive director of the Association on Higher Education and Disability, said that the legislation will provide “life-changing opportunities” by “instituting a commonsense flexibility that would allow disabled students to attend college at a pace consistent with their needs.”

Sarina Neote, director of public affairs for the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½, said that the bill will help more students with disabilities earn degrees.

“However, more policies tackling , , and need to be implemented to increase the retention of students with disabilities in STEM,” she said.