Earlier this year, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro proclaimed March to be Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Now, this week, he proclaimed May 1, 2025 to be Inclusive Postsecondary Education Day (IPSE).

Shapiro’s proclamation highlights the strengths of students with intellectual disabilities, the benefits of inclusive education, and the opportunities that come with postsecondary education for students with intellectual disabilities. He also highlights the lack of opportunities for young adults with intellectual disabilities after graduating high school across the nation and in Pennsylvania, as well as our Commonwealth's goal of supporting inclusive postsecondary education opportunities for all adults.

At the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, our Leadership & Career Studies (L&CS) certificate program offers young adults with intellectual disabilities or intellectual disabilities and autism the opportunity to take academic courses, complete employment experiences, participate in campus life, and receive support from peer mentors.

"L&CS students are amazing self-advocates, who know what they want their lives to look like," notes Cheryl B. Torsney, program manager for Leadership and Career Studies.

"They leave Temple with great memories, supportive lifelong relationships, and the academic and professional skills they will need to have a successful future. We need to spread the word about how inclusive postsecondary education enhances equity and access for everyone."

Learn more about the L&CS certificate program. Applications for Fall 2025 admission will close on May 30, 2025.

You can read the full text of Governor Shapiro's resolution below:

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is committed to giving all students the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed; and

WHEREAS, people often underestimate what people with disabilities are capable of, but in Pennsylvania, we know students with disabilities bring unique strengths to their work and their studies; and

WHEREAS, inclusive postsecondary education — where students with and without an intellectual disability learn together — benefits all students; and

WHEREAS, students with intellectual disabilities who attend inclusive postsecondary education are more likely to have competitive jobs after college and better opportunities for their future; and

WHEREAS, there are about 5,819 colleges and universities in the U.S., and just over 336 have options for students with intellectual disabilities. Of the nearly 300 colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, 14 have programs specifically designed for students with intellectual disabilities; and

WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is committed to the goal of supporting inclusive postsecondary education opportunities for all Pennsylvanian adults (age 18-26) to complete a postsecondary education certificate or degree.

THEREFORE, I, Josh Shapiro, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2025, to be

INCLUSIVE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION DAY

I encourage Pennsylvania students, families, and educators to join universities, colleges, and communities around the country in celebrating Inclusive Postsecondary Education Day.

GIVEN under my hand and the Seal of the Governor, at the City of Harrisburg, on this twenty-eighth day of April two thousand twenty-five, the year of the Commonwealth the two hundred forty-ninth.

Governor Josh Shapiro