To Create The Arkansas Respond, Innovate, Succeed, And Empower (rise) Act.
HB1766 creates the Arkansas Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower (RISE) Act, a new subchapter in Title 6 governing how institutions of higher education handle students with disabilities. The bill requires public institutions, tribal colleges, and private institutions that receive federal funding to adopt transparent policies for evaluating disability documentation, including IEPs, Section 504 plans, certain service records, and documentation of disability due to military service. It also requires schools to explain, in plain language and accessible formats, how students can seek accommodations and where disability-related services are located on campus.
The bill further directs colleges and universities to engage in an interactive process to document accommodation needs and establish reasonable accommodations, while allowing institutions to request additional documentation when necessary. Schools must provide a representative list of accommodations and disability resources, advise self-identified students about the accommodation process, avoid re-evaluating students who have already proven a permanent disability, and maintain a process for resolving conflicts when an accommodation may fundamentally alter a course or create an undue burden. The new requirements take effect January 1, 2026.
HB1766 would add a new statutory framework in Arkansas law specifically focused on disability accommodations in higher education. It affects institutions of higher education by imposing policy, notice, documentation, and interactive-process requirements, and it expands the types of records that must be considered when determining whether a student qualifies as a student with a disability. The bill also standardizes how institutions communicate disability services and accommodation procedures to applicants, students, parents, and faculty.
The available voting history suggests broad support for the bill, with strong third-reading margins in both chambers: 80-1 in the House and 27-3 in the Senate. No committee transcripts were provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate organized opposition or major amendments. Overall, the bill appears to have been received favorably as a student-support and accessibility measure.
The main areas where disagreement could arise are the documentation standards and the balance between student access and institutional discretion. The bill requires schools to accept several forms of prior disability documentation, but it also preserves the ability to ask for additional documentation and to deny accommodations that would fundamentally alter an essential course requirement or impose an undue burden. Potential points of contention include whether the bill creates enough flexibility for institutions, whether it sufficiently protects students from repeated documentation requests, and how broadly accommodations should be interpreted in housing, residence life, and academic settings.