Kate Worden is a busy high school senior. She plays basketball and volleyball, runs track and leads Deering High School’s chapter of the nonprofit Best Buddies. She also works two jobs, is busy with her senior capstone project, and volunteers at her church. So of course, she has her sights set on college.
But Worden, who has an intellectual disability, has limited higher ed options Maine, where few colleges and universities have what she needs: an Inclusive Postsecondary Education, or IPSE, program. These are higher education programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, housed within colleges and universities, usually with their own admissions process and special support systems.
A bill before the Maine Legislature this session would provide grants to five colleges to create these programs and offer scholarships for disabled students. A version of the bill passed the House and Senate last year, but never got a hearing in the appropriations committee. Advocates are hoping it gets another chance this year.
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