Maryland students with disabilities will get increased access to high school athletics
Just in case you missed it, the General Assembly unanimously approved a bill Monday night requiring schools to provide disabled students access to sports programs, either among themselves or with able-bodied students.
Under the measure known as the Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities, schools have three years to fully implement the requirements.
The legislation, which takes effect in July, requires local school systems to submit their plans to the state education department, which would investigate complaints and could sideline noncompliant teams or withhold money from schools or school systems.
Not everyone is pleased with the law. I received a number of e-mails from angry readers since this story ran.
One message from a reader in Hunt Valley included this rant about Tatyana McFadden, an accomplished high school wheelchair athlete who currently races alongside able-bodied athletes in Howard County : “I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY WHEN SHE INJURES SOMEONE (LIKE SPIKING ONLY WITH A WHEEL) AND SHE GETS THE CRAP SUED OUT OF HER.....YEAH WE ALL GET IT, TOO. CRIPPLE PEOPLE SHOULD GET IT THROUGH THEIR HEADS, AND IDIOTS, AND MORONS THAT THE WORLD DOESN'T OWN THEM ANYTHING.....WHEN I WAS YOUNG (OVER 50 YEARS AGO) PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD THEY HAD LIMITATIONS AND THEY ADAPTED........IF YOU COULDN'T GET UP THE STEPS YOU EITHER CRAWLED OR YOU DIDN'T GO UP THEM....NOW NON- HANDICAPPED PEOPLE HAVE TO BE HANDICAPPED SO HANDICAPPED PEOPLE ARE EQUAL....WELL THEY ARE NOT EQUAL,THEY HAVE A HANDICAP..............GET IT……”
Needless to say there was a lot more of the same in this e-mail.
I wonder if this was the same opinion shared by some when women and people of color attempted to break down athletic barriers in the past?
Supporters of the new legislation say that it will essentially level the playing field for all students.
What do you think?
Categories: Around the Region, School Diversity/Segregation
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Comments
Sad and scared people like the reader from Hunt Valley forget that in a split second they, too, may join the community of people with disabilities. Apparently, Hunt Valley reader has never experienced discrimination of any kind that has lent an iota of compassion to his/her world view. What a lucky person he/she is and how unfortunate for the rest of us.
On behalf of my son and his friends, who all have disabilities, you don't know what you're missing by being so hostile towards people with disabilities. Every one of these young people has something to offer. They are interesting and enjoy life, just like their peers without disabilities. They want to have fun and friends and play sports and be accepted, just like everyone else.
I suggest that everyone who thinks that kids with disabilities don't deserve to belong or have a happy life, actually get to know one or several. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities at your local school, Scout troop, church. I'd suggest you volunteer with Special Olympics but it's so much fun that you're not ready for that yet!
When you think about the vitriolic debate about including athletes with disabilities, it should be shocking to all of us to realize how entrenched it is in our society, how OK it is to so many of us to segregate a whole group of people because we are: (pick your adjective) afraid, uncomfortable, narrow-minded, hateful........
Including kids with disabilities in high school and rec sports is the right thing to do. It embodies the Judeo-Christian tradition to be kind and to do good, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. It teaches our kids that good sportmanship is more important than being good at sports. After all, how many H.S. athletes really make a living at professional sports?
Posted by: Sue Keller | April 10, 2008 4:55 PM
Right thing to do: certainly. My only concern is where the funding comes from.
There are levels of accommodation to provide, and then there are places where we say "you do the rest on your own". Wanting to include everyone is good. Mandating that programs be put into place at EVERY school might be a little much, given the numbers likely involved.
I'd throw my full support behind a school-system backed program that cast a wider net across multiple schools, but this plan seems like it has the potential to waste a lot of money for the benefit of relatively few.
Posted by: steegness | April 10, 2008 10:59 PM