Camryn Greene is a senior at Roy C. Ketcham High School. She was born deaf, and her experience in high school has been a little different.

“Once I’m taking notes and I have my head down, when I look up, I’m missing half of the words she said," Camryn said. "For a hearing person, they can hear her and what they’re writing. For me, if I write, I just can’t hear her.”

But she said the accommodations she receives from the school makes it easier to get through the school day.

What You Need To Know

  • Introduced by Rep. Marc Molinaro, the RISE Act would eliminate barriers for differently abled college students to receive the same services they received in high school

  • The bill also requires colleges to inform students, families and faculty about available accommodations during the admissions process

  • The RISE Act would also create $10 million in funds for the National Center for Information and Technical Support for Postsecondary Students with Disabilities

“Speech, teacher of the deaf, in-class notes and closed captions when we watch videos and take notes," she said, naming some of the services she receives in school. "Those are really helpful.”

But as she prepares to head off to college, she has concerns about if she can get these same, critical support services as an undergrad.

“I think everything will be hard when I go to college like that," Greene said.

She's not alone in her concern.

According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 85% of students who informed their four-year college about their disability received accommodations. That number dropped to 57% for students in two-year colleges.

Rep. Marc Molinaro is trying to change that with the RISE Act. It’s bipartisan legislation that would give students with disabilities easier access to support services in colleges across the state and nation so they can get the services they got in high school, in college without barriers.

The bill would eliminate the barriers to service by allowing college students to use a variety of existing documentation as proof of a disability when seeking accommodations on campus.

“And so they’ve got to start the process over again and many students with disabilities, even when they do finally receive access to those supports, it's well into their college experience, maybe juniors or even seniors, when they're catching up," Molinaro said.

Greene said this would be a huge help, a weight off her shoulders as she looks for a career in physical education.

“I’m very excited to be more independent, because I’ve been dependent for almost 12 years," she said. "So I’m finally ready to enter the real world.”