serving student-athletes with disabilities rehab act
TRANSCRIPT
Serving Student-Athletes with Disabilities
Rehab Act
Rehab Regs. • Mainstreaming required
– Schools must ensure participation of SWD to “maximum extent appropriate”
• Provision of equal opportunity– Schools shall provide “to qualified handicapped students an equal
opportunity for participation.”
• Creation of adapted programs encouraged
OCR Letter • Integrated Programs:
– Clarifies when and how schools must include students with disabilities in mainstream athletic programs
• Reasonable Accommodation
• Equal Treatment: – Defines what true equal treatment of student athletes with disabilities means
• Access to participation without regard to disability
• Adapted Programs – Encourages and provides a road map for schools to create adapted programs for students with
disabilities • (i.e. wheelchair basketball)
OCR Letter • What Inclusion is Required? Reasonable Accommodations
• Accommodations are reasonable where they do not:a. Alter an essential aspect of the game, or
-(i.e. constant contact wrestling)b. Create a competitive advantage
-i.e. 1 hand touch in swimming
• Reasonableness determined by Individualized Assessments
Next Steps
• Survey the Landscape • Existing participation • Data collection
• Develop Policies and Procedures • Individualized Assessment process • Education of coaches and students
• Infrastructure for Disability Emerging Sports
NCAA Student-Athletes with Disabilities Subcommittee - Current Priorities
• Data collection:- How many students on campus have disabilities?
- How many students with disabilities participating in sports?
• Create glossary of disability-related terms for membership as means of further educating on the issues.
• Provide suggestion and guidance for membership as to how to add disability inclusive language within athletics policies.
NCAA Student-Athletes with Disabilities Subcommittee - Current Priorities
• Further development of a larger communication plan to the NCAA membership on updates, key issues and expectations regarding serving student-athletes with disabilities.
• Add ad hoc subcommittee members.• Feature the inclusion of student-athletes with disabilities across NCAA
mediums (e.g., “Membership Perspective” section of NCAA Champion Magazine).
• Further assessment of communication accessibility to ensure effective access to information is available for all within the membership (e.g., closed captioning and interpretation services).
Questions/Comments