Schools must provide equal opportunities in sports for students with disabilities

Schools may not exclude students who have an intellectual, developmental, physical, or any other disability from trying out and playing on a team, if they are otherwise qualified, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says. In a posting on the Department's Homeroom blog, discusses new guidance from the Department's Office for Civil Rights that clarifies the legal obligations of schools to provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in after-school athletics and clubs. Schools "need to make reasonable modifications (such as using a laser instead of a starter pistol to start a race so a deaf runner can compete) to ensure that students with disabilities get the very same opportunity to play as everyone else," Duncan writes.