USDE highlights school requirements to include disabled students

The United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a guidance statement Jan. 25 that was intended to clarify the existing legal obligations public schools have to students with disabilities.

Since then there has been a lot of talk about finding ways to include disabled students in extracurricular activities.

The guidance letter was issued following a published report from the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), which concluded that participation in extracurricular athletic opportunities provides important health and social benefits to all students, including those with disabilities.

Those benefits include socialization, improved teamwork and leadership skills and fitness.

However, the GAO’s report also found that students with disabilities are not currently being afforded an equal opportunity to participate in extracurricular athletics in the majority of public elementary and secondary schools.

“We’re going to always comply with state and federal laws,” said Enterprise Superintendent Aaron Milner. “When we are presented with the opportunity to have a disabled student participate in any of our extracurricular activities, we work with that student and his or her parents within the confines of the law.”

Milner said there are several students with disabilities in the Enterprise City Schools system who participate in extracurricular activities.

These include students with physical, hearing, visual and learning disabilities.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 already requires all school districts that receive federal funds provide a “qualified” student with a disability an equal opportunity to benefit from the school district’s athletic programs.

The OCR identifies a qualified student as a student of the same age during which persons without disabilities are provided such services.

However, this doesn’t mean any qualified student with a disability is guaranteed a spot on a competitive team.

School districts can still require a level of skill or ability from a student in order to participate in a selective or competitive program, as long as the selection or competition criteria are not discriminatory toward certain groups.

The guidance also outlines Section 504’s prohibitions, which for school systems are denying students with disabilities services that are afforded to other students or providing those students with aid, benefit or service that is not equal to the services provided to other students.

This means a school district must make reasonable modifications to its policies, practices, or procedures whenever such modifications are necessary to ensure equal opportunity for disabled students.

For instance, if a deaf student wanted to run track, the school system would be required to provide a visual cue instead of audible cue at the start of each race.

This is assuming the student tried out for the team successfully and met all the physical requirements expected of non-disabled students.

However, if a requested modification would constitute a fundamental alteration of the nature of the extracurricular athletic activity or provide the disabled student with an unfair advantage, the school’s system is not required to provide it.

For example, a student in a wheelchair wanting to play basketball with students not bound to a wheelchair would fundamentally change the game and is an example of an accommodation that would not be allowed.

Another example was of a student with one hand who wants to participate on a school swimming team, which requires swimmers to touch the side of the pool with two hands to complete a lap.

The guidance cited allowing the disabled student to only touch the wall with his one hand as a reasonable accommodation.

Even though learning disabilities are included in Section 504, Milner said LD students are still required to make certain grades in order to participate in athletic programs.

“Those students that would be deemed learning disabled have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), which allows accommodations in order for that student to have opportunities to make grades based on his or her ability,” Milner said. “That IEP would be utilized to determine eligibility for athletic programs.”

Section 504 also discusses the provision of separate or different athletic opportunities for students with disabilities, if they are unable to participate in the existing athletic programs.

Examples of alternative sports included wheelchair basketball and tennis.

If there are not an adequate number of students to create a team at a school, districts are allowed to combine schools to meet the numbers required.

Systems are also allowed to make co-ed teams when trying to create additional programs for disabled students.

“We work with students and try to embrace their disabilities, whatever they may be,” Milner said. “We serve every student with great pride.”

For more information on school requirements for disabled students, contact the OCR’s Atlanta Office at 404-974-9406 or visit the USDE website at www.ed.gov.