14 February 2013
DISABILITIES: The U.S. Department of Education’s demand to create sports teams for students with disabilities is unrealistic.
By Amy Wang, Staff Writer
Even some of the best intentions can fall flat in the face of reality. The U.S. Department of Education asks that schools “give students with disabilities equal opportunities to participate in extracurricular athletics” and to “create additional athletic programs” if necessary. As ideal as this sounds, it is not reasonable considering other factors—money in particular.
Not many public schools have the funds or resources to create new teams for a particular group of students. Many schools have resorted to corporate sponsorships to help pay for their already existing teams. Here at Poly, we have advertisements hanging in our gym and on our baseball field to help pay for our sports. Likewise, other schools use sponsorships to pay for other expenses, such as buses.
Teams can cost thousands of dollars to fund; generally speaking, it takes around $2000 to start the team. A new coach must be found to head that team and, because the teams will be for students with disabilities, these coaches must also be able to adjust to their needs. For example, a team with deaf students needs a coach that can use sign language. Then there is the equipment, the uniforms and the price per player to include.
Also, keep in mind that the number of students with disabilities in one school might not be enough to even fill a team for one sport, much less multiple ones. And there is also the question of who the teams would play if not all schools have special teams for their students with disabilities. It makes no sense to spend money on a coach, the equipment and other extra necessities for a sport to satisfy only a few students.
It is more reasonable—and inexpensive—to demand alterations to existing sport teams in order to allow students with disabilities to play with the rest of the student body. The department’s guidelines say “accommodations must be made as long as they don’t give disabled students any advantage over those without disabilities, do not fundamentally change the sport in question and do not compromise safety.” If a school fails to do so, only then must it create a new team for fair play.
But forcing schools to create entirely new teams is anything but fair. It is understandable that the U.S. Department of Education wants to push equal opportunities, especially to those who cannot help but be at a disadvantage. But we have to look at things like these on a larger scale and see that, right now, creating extracurricular athletics for students with disabilities is not a top priority in our education system. Money is our priority. And there is not enough to spend of it.