Law gives equal opportunities to disabled student athletes

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Students with disabilities in Maryland can no longer be denied the right to share the racetrack or hit the court with their peers.

A new state law that went into effect this month ensures students with disabilities have equal opportunities to participate in sports, capping a years-long fight by disabilities activists.

“We haven’t included these kids, and they need to be included,” said Lauren Young, a lawyer at the Maryland Disability Law Center.

Disabled athletes, activists and officials will celebrate today the passage of the 2008 Maryland Fitness and Athletic Equity Act, which requires school boards to develop policies to promote the athletic inclusion of students with disabilities.

The event will include wheelchair demonstrations and an appearance by Willie Stewart, a Paralympic athlete and winner of last year’s New York City Triathlon. Gov. Martin O’Malley is scheduled to attend.

The state didn’t have policies in place when wheelchair athlete Tatyana McFadden wanted to race at Atholton High School in Howard County. She sued for that right, and this law is the “next phase” in those efforts, said Young, who represented McFadden.

“This legislation can open doors for others,” said McFadden, 19.

The bill paves the way for youth including McFadden’s younger sister, Hannah, also an amputee and now in seventh grade, who may choose to participate in sports in high school.

McFadden’s mother, Debbie McFadden, likened the legislation to Title IX — which barred gender discrimination and opened doors for young women to compete in sports — and called it a model for other states.

“It’s just affording the same opportunities and rights everyone else has,” she said.

The law goes beyond just letting disabled athletes participate, and ensures schools make equipment and facilities accessible as well, said Cristine Marchand, executive director of advocacy group The ARC of Maryland.

“It’s actually opening the doors to the locker rooms,” she said.

Marchand noted that schools have a phase-in time — three years, according to the legislation — so the change won’t happen overnight. But in several years, it will be the norm for disabled students to participate, she said.

“I think it’s very exciting.”

smichael@baltimoreexaminer.com

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