On December 2, 2022 the Department of Developmental Services announced its intent to award $710,000 to the California State University Long Beach Research Foundation to fund an initiative of the California Inclusive College Alliance (ICA). The ICA initiative will establish Inclusive Post-Secondary Education (IPSE) pilot programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities at six CSU campuses: CSU-Long Beach, CSU-San Jose, CSU-San Marcos, CSU-Northridge, San Francisco State, and CSU-East Bay. The project is funded as an Employment Preparation and Services grant and will support the academic and social inclusion of individuals with intellectual and development disabilities (IDD) in college in order to prepare them for competitive integrated employment (CIE). As part of their preparation for CIE, IPSE students will define their personal, academic, and career goals; participate in college courses with students without disabilities; build friendships and engage in campus life; complete internships and work-based training with individuals without disabilities, and receive a certificate upon program completion. Currently, CSUN’s Explorers, SFSU’s Inclusion Project, and CSULB’s Think Beach programs have some of these components in place. All six programs will admit approximately 4 students with IDD by fall 2023, with the goal of growing in size in subsequent years.
The project lead Dr. Powers (CSULB) will collaborate with Dr. Brooks (CSUSM), Drs. Hagiwara and Paulson (SFSU), Dr. Lasky (CSUN), Drs. Lee and Love (CSUSJ), Drs. Kemper and Taylor (CSUEB), and Dr. Sanderson (CSULB) on meeting the project objectives. For more information about this project contact ced-ccces@csulb.edu
The Inclusive College Alliance (ICA) was established in 2021 to support efforts across the state of California to establish IPSEs.