Sports Are A Civil Right For Disabled

AP’s Philip Elliott, with Justin Pope, “[T]he U.S. Education Department is telling schools they must include students with disabilities in sports programs or provide equal alternative options. The directive … could bring sweeping changes to school budgets and locker rooms … Schools would be required to make ‘reasonable modifications’ for students with disabilities or create parallel athletic programs that have comparable standing as mainstream programs. … ‘[T]his guidance will help schools ensure that students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to benefit from the life lessons they can learn on the playing field or on the court,’ Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement announcing the new guidance on Friday. … Education Department officials emphasized they did not intend to change sports’ traditions dramatically or guarantee students with disabilities a spot on competitive teams. Instead, they insisted schools cannot exclude students based on their disabilities if they can keep up with their classmates.”