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Chris Gardner / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wheelchair athlete Tatyana McFadden, 16, races along side other runners in her first track meet along side able-bodied high school runners in Rockville, Md.
The feds are ordering schools across the country to make "reasonable" changes to sports programs so that disabled students can play — or else create separate teams for them.
The new guidance from the Education Department issued Friday was hailed by advocates for the disabled but denounced by a conservative think-tank that said it could cost big bucks for cash-strapped schools.
"We think it’s huge and historic. In my opinion it could have the same effect, if properly implemented, as Title IX did for women," said Kirk Bauer, executive director of Disabled Sports USA.
Title IX required schools to offer girls and boys the same athletic opportunities and resulted in a huge uptick in female participation in school sports after it took effect 40 years ago.
The new order from the Education Department says athletics is also a civil right for the disabled and schools that don’t protect it could lose federal funding.
Under the latest rules, schools must tweak traditional programs to give qualified disabled students a shot at playing as long as they can do it without fundamentally changing the sport or giving anyone an advantage.
For instance, a visual aid instead of a starter pistol for the deaf runner would be easy to implement, while adding a fifth base to a baseball field to shorten running distances would be considered too big a change.
If alterations to a traditional team aren't feasible, schools must create a sports program that is open to disabled students, the order says. If there aren't enough students, schools should seek to create district-wide, regional or mixed-gender programs.
That part of the directive could be a huge financial burden, said Mike Petrilli, executive vice president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a right-leaning educational research nonprofit.
“I’m sympathetic to the idea that kids with disabilities should be able to play sports, but this is an incredible example of executive overreach and a huge unfunded mandate,” Petrilli said.
“It’s not clear how far schools have to go. Is wheelchair basketball enough or do they need to have wheelchair tennis and other sports, too?”
Bauer said such concerns are off-base, that schools will not be asked to have a disabled counterpart for every sport.
“It’s not going to be across the board,” he said. “Maybe football is not the sport that is going to be integrated.”
The letter from the feds gives some examples of ways schools can be creative but it does not spell out everything.
Casey Followay, 15, of Wooster, Ohio, who races in a wheelchair alone on his track team, hopes the policy will allow him to go up against runners. “It’s going to give me the chance to compete against kids at my level,” he told the Associated Press.
Lindsay Jones of the Council for Exceptional Children said that since disabilities are so individualized, the response to them needs to be, as well.
“I do thing you’re going to see some case-by-case lawsuits,” she said.
Ron Ingram, a spokesman for the Alabama High School Athletic Association, said he did not expect enormous changes at the school level in his state.
“We already have gone to great lengths to include students with disabilities in a way that it is not detrimental to the fundamental concept of the contest,” he said, pointing to a wrestler with no legs who racked up a 36-14 record in his senior year competing on a traditional team.
He said a wheelchair division at the state track-and-field championships has been a “disappointment,” with not much interest. “A majority of our special-needs students would prefer to compete in the Special Olympics,” he said.
“I think, based on what I’ve read so far, the biggest impact will just remind us all that we do need to go to great lengths to make sure all our students athletes are not discriminated against,” Ingram said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Maybe the Bears could use a good quarterback in a wheelchair. It would be kind of hard to tackle a guy in a wheelchair. The packers could use a few good linebackers too. Seems do gooders never run short of hair brained ideas. The reason they don't compete in sports is because of the word "Disabled". Wake up do gooders.
hare brained i believe.
Hare ?
Better a do gooder than a goober
i'm almost as liberal as they come but yikes! there are so many varieties of disabilities, to tailor competitive sports to all of them is likely a daunting and prohibitively costly task. the end result would probably be so dilute as to be unsatisfying to all. i just can't imagine what this would look like. i'll have to keep an open mind for now.
Please educate yourself, in Minnesota we have offered adapted sports to kids of all disabilities since the late 1970's. These are sports that we're developed for both ambulatory and wheelchair players alike. These kids earn achievement letters like those participating in regular sports.
As for there not being enough kids in a single school, there are cooperative schools that they can draw a pool of players.
Charlie Brose, what do you mean when you say "we have offered adapted sports to kids of ALL disabilities"? ALL? There are an infinite number of ways that a person can be disabled. How can you adapt all sports to an infinite number of disabilities? Somebody is going to get left out.
have any other recommendations for me and my life charlie?
Man this is an awesome ruling. I'm handicapped by being only 5'11" tall and having no verical leap. Now I'm going back to college and play center on the men's basketball team!! They'll have to accomodate me with some springs in my shoes so I can dunk!! I couldn't be more thrilled!!
They should lower the basket so you can reach it!
And then attach weights to the legs of the normal players to level the playing field!
Or you could sue.
When there are no more handicaped parking spots, or tags and stickers on cars, they we can talk about being treated equal.
Can you imagine?
How will the rules be changed to give opportunity to, say, a boy in a wheelchair that wants to play on the football team?
He can't qualify in any way unless standards are dropped, right?
Can he be tackled?
Many hypothetical examples could be considered and none are pretty, and all involve stunning compromise.
I think this will just open schools up for massive lawsuits, particularly smaller ones that can't afford the changes, lawsuits, increased taxes, etc.
Get ready to shut down many programs to foster this Utopian idea. Schools are already setting up "Pay to Play" programs for athletes across the country. Now with the power of the ADA, student athletic departments will have cut programs and, no doubt, subsidize the "challenged" athlete. It is one bucket of money that we all pull from people, not a infinite pool.
How many disabled students are there per public schoool anyway? 3%?, and not all interested in sports....So how will a team be fielded?
It doesn't matter. If schools are going to be required to pay armed guards, firearms training for teachers, and an arsenal of expensive weapons, they're going to have to cut sports and all nonessential programs to pay for all that anyway.
Witthe this idealisic ruling the Bad News Bears really could play the Yankees...and possibly win with the proper "tailoring".
Well, hey. With all the extra cash our schools have laying around, this should be a piece of cake!
it is absolutely amazing how stupid most of the people who work for our govt. are. Those that decided this need to be put out to pasture. they need to be put in a nursing home because it is blatantly obvious that they are too Frickn stupid to take care of themselves and their families
I can't believe the ignorance and crassness of some of these posts. What about the athlete that ran track in the Olympics last year in track with artificial legs? Or the mountain climbers or skiers who have artificial or missing limbs, or the baseball players with just one hand (I had a friend in high school baseball - he was awesome - could compete with any of us), and so on. They are not disabled, they are differently-abled. Unless you have been in their place or participated with them (or even just watched), you have no idea what they are capable of. School sports are for exercise, building confidence, learning teamwork, etc. It doesn't take more money, just allocating it differently. Most kids are thrilled to have disabled teammates.
db, thank you for this post. The cruelty and heartlessness of most of these posts is saddening.
db - you have no idea what you are talking about. Most schools cannot accomodate everyone who wants to play on their school teams. Kids in most schools have to try out and and many get CUT because they simply aren't good enough. If a disabled kid tries out and makes the team, good for them. But THIS mandates that every school provide COMPARABLR sporting opportunties for EVERY disabled kid, with no mention whatsoever as to their actual athletic ability etc.
Who is going to pay for all of this? Can I send MY bill to you?!?
And what about all the kids who get cut from their school teams? Why shouldn't THEY TOO be entitled to all the benefits of playing team sports in schools? Oh, wait, that's right, disabled kids are in a protected class so they have MORE rights than everyone else's kids do.
Give me a break, liberals like to believe that there are endless pots of money just laying around waiting to pay for anything they want, and no price is too high if it means "leveling the playing field."
Geez, that's supposed to be "comparable."
Gee, grilled, why give them an opportunity, since handicapped kids have it so easy. If a deaf child can run track by changing to a visual starter, why not?
A girl at my kids school joined the Outdoor club, even though she has trouble walking. After some ski lessons, she is now walking better. Most kids in the school support the kids that have these problems and do not begrudge extra things that help them. Maybe you should learn about empathy too.
Zannie - stop blathering about "empathy". This has nothing to do with "empathy". It has to do with REALITY. Most school teams are very competitive, and you have to try out to make them. In many schools, lots of kids get cut. If a disabled kid is good enough to make the team, FINE. But how are you going to make "reasonable accommodations" for someone who simply cannot compete on the same level as a whole bunch of other kids? And creating "comparable" opportunities in those cases could be unbelievably expensive. Can I send you the bill for my share? My godd*mned property taxes are ALREADY $9k per yr on an 1800 sq. ft home and almost ALL of the money goes to our schools. We CANNOT AFFORD THIS NONSENSE!!
And I will ask the question again, since lots of kids are already getting cut from their school teams because they're simply not good enough, where is THEIR accommodation? And why don't you have any EMPATHY for THOSE kids? Hmmm?
It was reasonable changes. A deaf kid needs a visual starter, etc, not re-vamp the system. And how are you able to determine unbelievably expensive? In the article it said districts are already doing it and quietly, so the world did not fall down after they did make accommendations.
As for empathy for kids that do get cut, I do. Both of my high school kids have made teams and been cut by teams.
This is just another politically correct, left-wing, civil rights, equal opportunity agenda issue. Certainly everyone should be entitled to participate in athletics, provided they meet the minimum physical requisites associated with each respective sport in question. But the fact of the issue is this: not everyone is created equally, even though the politically correct agenda of the left seems to think that their proposals and ideological philosophies can accommodate all, fairly, equally, and justly. Nice in a fantasy world, but it just ain't so! Athletic programs are most assuredly part of the American public school system, but to push the envelope for those not physically capable to participate in these sports is simply not a practical approach to the issue.
P.S. We here in E. Central PA, near Allentown, PA, have what is called a "dream league" facility for baseball playing handicapped kids. This facility was developed and constructed primarily from private donations. Yes, we all want what is best for kids, but sometimes private citizens have to step up to the plate and make it happen. It shouldn't be the responsibility of an academically deteriorating, marginally acceptable, dysfunctional public school system. Instead of accommodating political correctness, the system should make random drug and alcohol testing a requisite for all teachers, regardless of tenure, status, or seniority. Perhaps we'd see a major upward spiral in our nation's academic standing.
So, were you against Title IX for women, since we can't bench press the same as a man? Your comment could have been used against Title IX as men and women have different physical capabilities.
And what does drug testing teachers have to do with this story?
@Zannie84: read my post again. I'm not talking about women's rights, I'm simply expressing the reality of physical handicaps with regard to requisites necessary to participate in a given sport. As far as the "drug testing" teacher comment, I just felt compelled to blast an inadequate, dysfunctional, public education system that is above legal reproach because a corrupt and powerful union says that even though teachers are relegated to educate, discipline, and essentially socialize our most important commodity, our children, they are not subject to the same standards as the rest of the millions of working class citizens. The teaching profession is rife with alcoholics, and drug users. Don't believe it? Just do the testing. I'd bet the ranch we'd have a dramatic mass exiting of teachers, coupled with a dramatic increase in academic standing, et al. That's just my opinion...and I'm sticking to it! It's a small percentage for sure, but they are in the system and they are protected. Malcontents, gold-bricks, malingerers, predators, and characters of ill repute. Don't believe it? Read the paper!
For what most teachers are paid compared to their education, I would probably drink too. Not to mention being locked in a school with the kids all day. I have to give them credit that they show up every day. And when all these teachers leave who do you plan on hiring to replace them. No saying that teachers doing drugs or that are alcoholics should be there, but all industries have both.
And I know that you are not talking about women's rights, but your comments are the same that were used against Title IX. I remember being made to feel guilty because we had a softball team and the boys didn't get new football jerseys that year. Even though we barely had uniforms.
They took recess out of elementary school and now say that sports is civil right? Nuts. next they will say that good grades are a civil right.
...ANOTHER unfunded federal mandate for the local taxpayer to pick up! the article seems to suggest that 'separate but equal' programs will be acceptable, but does anyone remember what happened 50 and 60 years ago to 'separate but equal' programs?
Liberals have just lost their minds altogether.
Who the h*ll is going to pay for this? Many states ALREADY have outrageous property taxes thanks to insane schooling costs.
And "life lessons"? Really? How about the "life lesson" that you can't always get everything you want?
How about all the kids who get cut from their schools' teams? What about THEIR right to play sports and have the "benefit of life lessons learned on the sporting fields"? But I guess they don't count because they aren't part of a protected class and therefore don't have as many rights as disabled kids.
I am really sick of this liberal crap already. ENOUGH!!!
db in Denver,
Yes there are capable "differently-abled" athletes, but they are not the norm. School sports are NOT simply for exercise, learning teamwork, etc. That's what PE class is for. School athletics programs are a step above that for students possessing greater ability than even "regular" students. Money is an extremely limited resource in ALL of education and if you"allocate it differently," you have to cut it from somewhere else that needs it. This is one of the worst decisions to come through the Department of Education. I work in Higher Ed, but with decisions like this one, I can see why Reagan wanted to do away with the D of Ed back in the 80s...
The Dept of Ed is a mess... always has been. Educators who became regulators. I too work in higher ed for almost 40 years. Although this is not my field of expertise... I question the intent and value of this regulation. But willing to listen and interested to see how this shakes out.
If the sports are above teamwork, exercise and greater ability then let their parents pay for it. Why should tax dollars go to it? There are many kids with greater abilities in all subjects and areas, I don't see the school paying for programs for them.
My son is musically gifted and you guessed it, I pay for it not the school.
Our public schools should be equal opportunity.
The whole community enjoys watching high school sports teams compete against young athletes from a school representing another community. Like in the movie Hoosiers. You can sell tickets. And if you have a good music program in the school, you can field a band that will draw even more interest to the games and the school. But not everybody is good enough in the "varsity" sports and music performance that attract public interest. So for the rest, there is physical education, and classroom music instruction. If somebody invents a game that gives as much enjoyment to spectators as varsity football and basketball, then school districts will adopt that new game. I doubt it will be wheelchair racing. That is more of a physical fitness, participation, individual challenge, and team spirit thing. Belongs under physical education class, not varsity sports.
There are so many issues to address with this regulation. I suspect public schools will begin to reduce sports programs to accommodate additional costs for facilities, accommodations, insurance, etc. While Title IX was a good thing... I'm not so sure about this on the same level. I hate to deny opportunity. This will be a wait and see matter. Next thing you know... there will be a demand for equal playing time for everyone. I suspect that's when it becomes "game over". That's when the competitive advantage dissapates and it becomes "fun for everyone". Just glad my kids participated in HS sports and graduated.
The migration to higher level travel and recreational programs or to private high schools will increase dramatically in some sports depending how strong and competitive those programs are. In some sports, high is the showcase for talent scouts for college teams. In other sports, not nearly as much at high school level as travel or Junior programs (ie. hockey).
I'm on the fence with this regulation...
Ron Ingram, a spokesman for the Alabama High School Athletic Association, said he did not expect enormous changes at the school level in his state. “We already have gone to great lengths to include students with disabilities in a way that it is not detrimental to the fundamental concept of the contest,” he said
Apparently schools are already addressing this issue, and the world has not collapsed!
Besides, how the heck are you going to have wheelchair ice hockey?
Key words: reasonable accomodations. I don't think they're thinking that a person with paralysis of the legs should be kicking field goals and tearing up a football field with a wheel chair or getting stuck in the mud. Basketball, swimming and several other sports however is reasonable and do able. So is putting up four lines of running string for kids who can't see in baseball, or climbing walls, etc. Yes, a long string and four stakes is going to cripple people's budgets. Really ?
Then there was Jim Abbott, a MLB pitcher with only one forearm. He made his high school team because he was good and he wanted to play sports. Then he made it to the majors. Should he have been put into a "different" league because he has a arm missing? No. He was good enough to get thru each hurdle that was put in front of him. If they have the tools, let them play. If they don't, there is always intermurals.
Agreed. Was the game modified for Jim? No... Special accommodations? Not that I am aware of...
I wonder who makes the decision about qualification, participation and accommodations? Can't wait to see what happens here in New York State...
Jim Abbott played qb on his football team.
..we need to get rid of the DOE, the sooner the better....
Or, if written correctly, 'tackling dummies.'
Support for the argument that more time is needed in English class, and less time in sports.
Enormous amounts of money go into school athletics, money the school receives from ALL students,yes even the disabled ones. If money is going to be taken from ALL then ALL should have opportunity to participate.
We are talking public schools, not college athletics or the pro's. Often times very simple modifications and accommodations can be made. Just like the article states.
Here's an example: Michael Phelps had severe ADHD, but pointed in the right direction look what he was able to do. Not every disability involves a wheelchair.
@ Creek Dog- Marry me instead!
Accommodations are already made for those who need them in schools. I am not sure why we need this at all. Of course there could be situations where someone wasn't allowed to try out because of a disability and it ended up in court. A strong swimmer with Down Syndrome perhaps? A runner with false legs? It was a long hard fight for Pistorius to be allowed to complete in the Olympics.
The idea that SPORTS are the only way to learn confidence, leadership, achievement,is patently offensive. Sports at my high school were the direct line to alcoholism, sex parties, and learning how to be the school bully. Anyone who was a high quality athlete was participating in AAU and travel teams, not the school league with a few exceptions. If someone lacks the athletic ability to participate in team sports, why not encourage individual sports or fitness activities? Find another hobby? Putting all extracurriculars on the same prestige level would be the answer here, not changing SPORTS so everyone can share in the so called glory.
I'm not against sports, I just think things have gotten out of hand.
Good grief - the ultimate result of this will be the elimination of all programs for everyone.
Can you just imagine blind baseball?
Just when you think the lack of common sense in America has gotten to the bottom, there is a new bottom. The end result of this will inevitably be that the handicapped students will be added to regular sports teams by court action - special needs children have already ruined the education of regular children because of mainstreaming (which means mediocrity). Classes are dumbed down so as not to make the precious special needs children feel different.
Next thing you know you'll see a quarterback in a wheelchair and a regular player paralyzed from tackling the wheelchair.
I was referring to blind skiers and climbers in my earlier post... not baseball. I still maintain that education dollars should not go to training star athletes, but well-rounded & educated students. Sports are part of that, but not at the expense of all but a few.
I imagine there are more than a few vets who would take issue with those that think the handicapped should be excluded from anything they are capable of.
jumping a bus in a wheelchair wouldnt cost much, all ya need is a ramp a bus and a hill.