Laws

The following information taken from Discover Inclusive Physical Education: A Guidebook for Educators :

There are three main pieces of disability rights law and guidance that directly relate to and/or affect physical education:

•Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

•Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Dear Colleague Letter: Students with Disabilities in Extracurricular Activities

•Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)(includes Individualized Education Plans(IEPs))

It is important to be aware of all three and the implications they have on your classroom.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states that “no qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall be excluded from, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under” any program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance. Section 504 covers every student with a disability. Often, students who use a wheelchair but do not have any other limitations will fall under section 504. Simply stated, this law stipulates that whatever is provided for students without disability must also be provided for students with disability. If students in your school are provided physical education classes, then students with disability must be provided with a physical education class as well. As stated, this law applies to all schools that receive Federal funding. There are very few schools, including private schools, that do not receive some form or forms of Federal financial assistance; therefore, almost all schools are required to comply with this law.

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Dear Colleague Letter does not specifically speak to physical educators; however, it affects athletic opportunities in all schools and may affect the goals and outcomes for some of your students. On January 24, 2013, the OCR issued a Dear Colleague Letter clarifying schools’ obligations under the Section 504 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to provide extracurricular athletic opportunities for students with disability. The release of the Dear Colleague Letter is not a new law but rather further guidance on what should already be provided for students with disability under Section 504. The purpose is solely to clarify schools’ responsibilities under the law and does not provide any additional legislation. Similar to Title IX, which paved the way for women to have equal opportunity in sports, the further guidance will hopefully lead to similar outcomes for student athletes with disability.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires public schools to make available to all eligible children with disability a free, appropriate public education in the “least restrictive environment” alongside their peers without disability as is appropriate to their individual needs. Least restrictive environment is defined by the law as:
“to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities… are educated with children without disabilities, and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from regular education environments occur only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.” Federal Register, August,1977, p. 42497

As a physical educator, it is incumbent upon you to ensure that a student with a disability will not be functionally excluded from your class or asked to do something different than the rest of the class due to the disability. An example of functional exclusion may be assigning the student with the disability to keep score while all other students are playing a game, or to play in the corner with his or her aid instead of playing with other students. It is your responsibility as their physical educator to learn about and create opportunities for play in the least restrictive environment possible.

An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is a legally binding document that has been tailored specifically to a child’s educational needs, including his or her physical education needs. An IEP should state specifi c goals and objectives for physical education as delineated in the student’s IEP meeting, which involves parents, teachers and other professionals. As the physical educator you should be present in that meeting and take part in the discussion by suggesting accommodations that are age- and ability-appropriate. This will help provide a safe, successful, beneficial environment for the student. Unfortunately, it is common for physical educators to not be present at IEP meetings; however, that does not make the plan any less binding. If you are presented with an IEP, it is imperative that you read through it and make sure that the suggested accommodations are possible before signing off on it. An IEP could be presented to you stating you will spend 20 minutes of individualized teaching time with a student during each class. This may be completely impossible as you may be the only educator for 50 students during that time, in which case you should refuse to sign unless changes are made. Be sure to know your rights as a physical educator and make sure you have a say in the IEP of each of your students. Parents may not know or be willing to advocate for their child to receive an IEP for physical education; as the physical educator, you may be that student’s biggest advocate. Individualizing an IEP is of utmost importance to the safety and success of the student. Ensuring that IEPs are tailored specifically to meet each individual student’s needs in the least restrictive environment must be a primary consideration.