FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Athletic Opportunities for Students with Disabilities

August 3, 2010 - A July 2010 report released by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) confirmed that students with disabilities participate in athletics at consistently lower rates than students without disabilities. The report examined the state of athletic and physical education programming opportunities for students with disabilities. Other studies indicate that 56% of people with disabilities do not engage in any physical activity, compared to 36% of people without disabilities, and only 23% of people with disabilities are active for 30 minutes three or more times per week.                

The GAO study results confirmed the need for continued action and advocacy on behalf of students with disabilities. Although people with disabilities have made significant gains since the passage of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act (Rehab Act), disabled students still face pervasive inequities in school-based athletic programs. Currently, opportunities to participate in athletics for students with disabilities are virtually non-existent. There are 1.5 million first through twelfth graders with physical ailments that are not included in athletic competitions. Furthermore, high school athletic associations in fewer than ten states and fifteen colleges and universities offer adapted interscholastic or intercollegiate sports programs for students with disabilities. These figures demonstrate that, when left to their own devices, schools have not and will not assume the responsibility for creating athletic programs for students with disabilities.

The GAO called on the Department of Education to provide resources to assist states and schools in serving students with disabilities in physical activity settings and to produce guidance to clarify schools' responsibilities under Section 504 of the Rehab Act to provide athletic opportunities for students with disabilities. Section 504 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in any educational institution that receives federal funding. This often includes both public and private institutions.

The Alliance in Support of Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities (ASAESD), organized by the Women's Sports Foundation, is working on a multi-prong policy agenda that will ensure that students with disabilities are provided opportunities to participate in and receive benefits from sports and physical education.

As a signatory to ASAESD, AAPAR supports the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services in developing resources and technical assistance on issues surrounding the participation of students with disabilities in athletic programs. This information is necessary to ensure not only that school officials understand their legal obligations to provide athletic opportunities to students with disabilities, but that they have the resources and training necessary to do so.

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Contact:
AAPAR
AAPAR@aahperd.org
703-476-3430

AAPAR, one of 5 national associations that make up the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), serves more than 8,600 professors, teachers, trainers, and community leaders who promote meaningful physical activity and recreation across the lifespan. AAPAR advocates fitness and fun for every body, with a focus on inclusive community based programs.

AAHPERD, an alliance of five national associations, six district associations, and a Research Consortium, provides its members with a comprehensive and coordinated array of resources, support, and programs to help practitioners improve their skills to further the health and well-being of the American public. It is the largest organization of professionals involved in physical education, recreation, fitness, dance, health promotion and all specialties related to achieving an active, healthy lifestyle. AAHPERD serves 20,000 members and has its headquarters in Reston, Virginia, 25 miles west of Washington DC. To learn more, visit www.aahperd.org.