College opportunities for those with intellectual disabilities have proliferated in recent years, but with federal support in limbo, the viability of such programs could be in jeopardy.

A five-year federal plan designed to study the best approaches for getting students with intellectual disabilities through college was key in getting many programs off the ground. But the grant of roughly $11 million annually, which began in 2010, could be coming to an early end.

President Barack Obama allotted no money specifically for the effort in his 2013 budget proposal released earlier this week. And that has those behind the programs worried.

Losing federal funding could be a blow to a burgeoning opportunity for students to learn vocational and life skills that can help make them less dependent on government benefits long-term, backers say.

Nonetheless, advocates point out that postsecondary programs existed before the federal grant and will likely survive with or without future money, reports U.S. News and World Report. To read more click here.

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