Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the subcommittee. My name is Will McLauchlin, and I am a resident of Fairfax County. I am on the autism spectrum, and SB 21 is an important step toward ensuring people with disabilities can have easier access to accomodations in higher education. I want to be clear that while I support the bill, I strongly preferred the original version before it was amended to a study. I want to thank Delegate Cohen for introducing the House's version of the bill, HB 509, which was identical to the original Senate bill before it was amended to a study as well. I recognize that there is not enough support in the Senate for the original form of the bill to pass, but I would like to suggest that if possible, the committee please offer an amendment that changes this bill back to its original form, so that it can at least have more discussion in a potential committee of conference. Either way, I support the bill. Thank you.

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Thank you, Chairwoman Sewell, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee. My name is Nick Down, and I am a senior program officer with the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, or ACTA for short. I am here before you today to urge you to vote against moving Senate Bill 506 forward to the full committee. By way of background, ACTA is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization committed to preserving academic freedom, academic excellence, and accountability at four-year public and private colleges and universities across the U.S. Since 1995, ACTA has worked with over 23,000 higher education trustees across the country to ensure that students receive an intellectually rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price. We believe that the strength of America’s higher education system relies on engaged governing boards that appreciate their independent role. But this bill makes one crucial change to Virginia statute that would undermine this very idea. Title 23, section 1304 of the Code of Virginia makes clear that Boards of Visitors’ “primary duty [is] to the citizens of the Commonwealth.” Senate Bill 506 would replace this by reorienting Visitors’ primary duty to the university. Let me be clear—this would stand the idea of public oversight on its head. A corporate board has a duty to its shareholders—so such a public university board has a duty to its stakeholders, in this case the taxpayers of Virginia. When the interests of the university conflict with those of the public, the public’s needs must come first. And the job of determining that is that of the Boards of Visitors. ACTA understands the desire to protect Virginia’s boards of visitors from undue political interference, and we agree that for trustees to fulfill their fiduciary duties they MUST be independent actors. However, I urge you to consider an alternative way to secure trustees’ independence, as their duty to serve the Commonwealth should not be misconstrued as a duty to obey any political actor. Visitors serve the public by looking to the common good rather than merely the immediate interests of their institutions. For example, when a college administration proposes a tuition increase, it is the responsibility of visitors to determine whether it’s appropriate for the citizens of Virginia. By removing the duty of visitors to serve the citizens of the Commonwealth first, you are removing the only internal check against the narrow interest of each college or university, which weakens the ability of these institutions to self-regulate. Given that our surveys of public higher education show that Virginia’s institutions rate in the bottom third of the nation on several measures of access and cost, this legislation is something that the people of Virginia can ill afford. Again, I urge the Subcommittee to vote against SB 506 and I thank you for your time and the opportunity to appear before you today. I am happy to answer any questions.