"Editor's Corner: Is The Time Right - Interscholastic Athletics for Student-Athletes with Disabilities?"

"Editor's Corner: Is The Time Right - Interscholastic Athletics for Student-Athletes with Disabilities?" - Michael Frogley & David Beaver, Palaestra published Spring 2002

In the United States every child is assured an opportunity to gain an education. Education is made available to ensure the individual has opportunity to develop the full potential present in him/herself. Passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142) in 1975 was meant to give children with disabilities opportunities to develop such potential. Intent of the legislation was to ensure youths with disabilities would receive the same educational opportunities as peers. Progress, at times slow, has nonetheless been made in almost all academic areas. Nearly five million youths with disabilities in mainstream and/or special education settings testify to this fact. However, progress has not come in other areas as equally - physical education, and in particular, interscholastic athletics.

When asked, most would see physical education as instruction in a variety of physical activities; i.e. games, play, sports. It is, in fact, much more, with its role being much more than simply teaching our youths sports and play. It is education that uses physical activities to achieve goals, not only in the physical domain, but also within the affective and cognitive domains. Interscholastic athletics, addressing all three domains, are components of a well--rounded school program, with a good physical education program serving as a foundation. Most readers who have played competitive sports have memories of games or competitive experiences where something eventful and meaningful took place. Maybe it was hitting a home run, making the game winning free-throw, or being a part of the conference championship team - but undoubtedly such moments occurred. Such experiences stay with individuals, often impacting the rest of their lives. Attached to those moments are collections of experiences going along with game and competitive athletic experiences. Those experiences taught something about self, something to apply elsewhere in life. Readers who have been involved in competitive athletics would not dispute benefits derived from such experiences and impacts those experiences have had on quality of life.

There is, however, a sub-population of students who do not receive, for the most part, the same opportunities to participate in competitive athletic experiences - students with disabilities. Certainly, there are programs - Dwarf Athletic Association of America (small stature), Disabled Sports/USA (amputee), National Disabled Sports Alliance (cerebral palsy), Special Olympics, Inc. (mental retardation), United States Association of Blind Athletes (visual impairment), United States of America Deaf Sports Federation (hearing impairment), Wheelchair Sports USA (spinal cord injury), along with the youth division of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, and a handful of smaller sport organizations - but few, if any, are directly connected to school--based programs such as those typically found within the inter--scholastic sports programs offered as extracurricular activities at a typical school. Difficulties associated with these options lie in geographical isolation, transportation to and from practice, availability of appropriate coaching, and funding needed to participate. Regardless of the particular situation, the result remains the same - - school-age children with disabilities are predominantly not afforded competitive athletic options.

Historically, there have been a few attempts at providing interscholastic competition for student--athletes with disabilities within the United States in Minnesota, Georgia, and Illinois, along with marginal practices in four other states.

Minnesota - Although it took nearly 25 years for it to evolve from an initial recreational floor hockey program to one on the interscholastic level, the State of Minnesota, under the leadership of Jim Christy, Ed Parhofsky, and Cathy Peterson moved from the Minnesota Association for Adapted Athletics (1975), then to the Minnesota Adapted Athletic Conference (MAAC) (1979), to seeing the MAAC gain full league endorsement by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) on November 19,1992. MAAC started formal competition under MSHSL's auspices and standards during the fall of 1993 with 42 school districts participating.

Georgia - Teachers in the DeKalb, Georgia, School District originated after-school athletic activities for students with physical disabilities in 1980. Originally named the Adapted Sports Program, it became the Atlanta Disabled Sports Foundation in 1983, with the sole purpose of funding and providing sports opportunities for youths with physical disabilities. In 1990 the DeKalb School Board hired Bev Vaughn, a therapeutic recreation specialist from Emory University to be its first full-time coordinator. During the past 10 years, from its humble beginnings in DeKalb, the program has blossomed into the American Association of Adapted Sports Programs, Inc. (AAASP), presently boasting some 12 community partners, having gained recognition and support of the Adapted Physical Activity Council of the American Association for Active Lifestyles and Fitness, and in 2001 having gained an historic alliance with the Georgia High School Association when it recognized AAASP as the sanctioning and governing body of all interscholastic sports for students with physical disabilities and visual impairments within the State of Georgia.

Illinois - The newest effort to provide interscholastic athletic competition for students with disabilities comes from the State of Illinois, where, under the aegis of staff associates with the Division of Rehabilitation-Education Services at the University of Illinois, wheelchair basketball has been recognized by the Illinois High School Association as a bonified interscholastic sport. Others - Similar efforts on behalf of students with disabilities have been attempted in Iowa, New Jersey, New York, and Louisiana; however, these attempts have centered more on accepting certain events within already staged state championships, rather than the adoption of a state-wide program of interscholastic competition for student-athletes with disabilities, and have thus failed to provide comprehensive state-wide opportunities for competition.

The purpose of this Editor's Corner is to provoke a discussion, a national dialogue towards gaining parity at the interscholastic athletic program level for student-athletes with disabilities.

Rationale

There are four overriding concepts supporting development of interscholastic athletic programs for students with disabilities - legal intent, personal development, academic achievement, and moral issues. On their own, these concepts should be reason enough to foster such programs. Together there can be little argument the time has come for development and implementation.

Legal Intent - The first concept for development of interscholastic athletic competitions models stems from the legal foundation. While there is very little information specifically addressing the necessity of a competitive sport model, both legislation and case law support the concept.

In 1954, the landmark case, Brown vs. Board of Education, determined the importance of equal educational opportunities in our society with the statement that "in these days it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he or she is denied the opportunity for an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be available to all on equal terms" (Kalakian & Eichstaedt, 1982, p. 8). With this case, the concept of separate but equal was overturned. Based on this ruling, a school cannot argue that the existence of separate programs provided by one or more Disabled Sports Organization provides a sufficient opportunity, because the opportunity is not integrated into the school system and thus not readily available for participation.

In 1972, it was ruled in Mills vs. Board of Education (District of Columbia) that, "if sufficient funds are not available to finance all of the services and programs needed and desirable in the system, then available funds must be expended equitably in such a manner that no child is entirely excluded from publicly supported education." Questions of interpretation occur over what is equitable and over when a child is entirely excluded (Kalakian & Eichstaedt, 1982, p. 9). Existence of this precedent deters arguing there is not enough money, holding no weight in the eyes of the courts. Thus, if money is being spent on competitive athletics for one group served by the public school system, then the case could be made an equal amount must be spent on other groups. This has been a significant ruling with regard to funding for women's sports, and could be a valid defense for interscholastic sport for student-athletes with disabilities.

In 1973, the federal government showed its desire to exercise more influence over the states' education of individuals with disabilities when the Rehabilitation Act was passed. Section 504 of this Act (PL 93-112) states that agencies receiving federal funds and found to be discriminating against individuals could have funding withheld (Kalakian & Eichstaedt, 1982). It mandated overall access to programs receiving federal funding to individuals with disabilities. With its passage, an individual who was denied an opportunity to participate could pursue litigation as a means of gaining access. With the dollar squeeze and budgetary constraints placed upon most school districts, any funding from a federal agency equates to greater programming for all students. Prevention of access to competitive sport programs can be construed as discrimination and justify the removal of federal funding from a school or a district provided the actual school or district receives federal financial support .

The Education for all Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142) (now PL 101-473) finally made permanent the protections already being enforced, and in addition, added many new guidelines. For example, Part B of PL 94-142 requires "physical education be made available to every child with a disability who is receiving a free and appropriate education" (Kalakian & Eichstaedt, 1982, p. 11). It includes physical education as part of special education and defines it as "the development of physical and motor fitness, fundamental motor skills and patterns and instruction in aquatics, dance, individual and group games and sports" (Kalakian & Eichstaedt, 1982, p. 11). This is significant because Physical Education is the only academic area specifically mentioned in PL 94-142, not once, but five times. As a component of physical education and as a compliment to physical education, interscholas-tic athletics offer significant educational experiences which cannot be duplicated by any other educational setting. High school pundits often use the 19-year-old age limit requirement most state high school athletic associations have on their books as being a deterent to providing athletic opportunities for older students with disabilities; however, since the court rulings in the Kling vs. Mentor School District (Stewart, 2001) case, the precedent has been established to allow students past the age of 19 to participate in athletics when included as a part of the student's Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Personal Development -- The second concept for inter-scholastic athletic programs for students with disabilities lies in the effect such participation would have on the personal growth of the individual student-athlete. Research has shown positive effects participation in competitive sport has on youths. Athletes are taught discipline, perseverance, fair play, coping strategies, concentration, social interaction, and how to gain improved self-esteem (Anshel, 1996; Covrig, 1996; Fejgin, 1994). Provision of competitive opportunities at an early age allows children to learn these skills in a gradual progression. Acquisition of skills over time allows students to more readily use skills which can then be applied to other areas of academia and life (Martin, 1996; Poinsett, 1996). The aforementioned benefits are not, and should not be restricted to youths who are non-disabled. Youths with disabilities can make similar gains through participation in interscholastic athletics - thus enriching their educational experiences. Academic Achievement - In addition to the effect competitive sport has on the development of personal skills, competitive sport also has a direct impact on school performance. Studies show students participating in interscholastic sports have higher academic achievement than they would otherwise have, discipline problems are reduced, and graduation rates are higher (Smith, 1994; American Sports Inst., 1995). Because of the unique nature of many physical disabilities, coupled with a high rate of learning disabilities within this population, students with disabilities often have difficulty with traditional academic subjects. Fortunately sports can be used as tools to reach the individual's potential. Given the high unemployment rate of individuals with disabilities, it is imperative that these individuals be given every encouragement to complete their educational experience - particularly at the high school level.

Moral Issues - The final concept is a moral issue. When a group within society is treated in a manner different from other groups, that group is seen as different. If the group in question is provided with fewer opportunities, it is perceived to be of lesser value. By not providing for athletic opportunities to students with disabilities, this group continues to be perceived as less capable.

The stereotype for youths with disabilities is physical ineptitude, beginning with a perception of their physical disability, being reinforced by the interpretation of an unequal situation. By providing an equal interscholastic sport opportunity, society is taught to focus on ability and not disability.

Here it is - a logical case for developing interscholastic athletic programs for student-athletes with disabilities in the nation's public schools. Legislation provides the legal basis, demonstrating societal views regarding equal opportunities and nondiscrimination. Research supports the concept of competitive sport for individuals who are non-disabled, thus such benefits should be made equally attainable by individuals with disabilities. What is needed now is a model which can realistically meet the needs of students with disabilities as it relates to the interscholastic competitive athletic environment and can be replicated in each state, with individuals to champion the idea!

Editor's Note: Michael Frogley is a doctoral student at the University of Illinois and staff member within the Division of Rehabilitation - Education Services. He is the prime mover in the acceptance by the IHSA of wheelchair basketball being accepted as an interscholastic sport within Illinois.