{"id":1784,"date":"2009-11-24T19:33:40","date_gmt":"2009-11-24T23:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/?p=1784"},"modified":"2009-11-29T10:50:50","modified_gmt":"2009-11-29T14:50:50","slug":"athlete-sues-for-right-to-compete-state-passes-athletics-equity-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/athlete-sues-for-right-to-compete-state-passes-athletics-equity-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Athlete Sues for Right to Compete; State Passes Athletics Equity Law"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_pop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/gallery\/share-button-gray.png\" style=\"border:0px\" alt=\"Share\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_icon_type = \"labels\";var hupso_background=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_border=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"wrightslaw\";var hupso_url=\"\";var hupso_title=\"Athlete%20Sues%20for%20Right%20to%20Compete%3B%20State%20Passes%20Athletics%20Equity%20Law\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><p>Tatyana McFadden has spinal bifida and uses a wheelchair. She is a Paralympics medalist and world record holder.<\/p>\n<p>As a high school freshman,\u00a0 Tatyana sued her school for the right to compete on the same track, at the same time, as her non-disabled teammates. Her high-profile case won hearts, and led the Maryland General Assembly to pass a unique law &#8212; the Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities Act.<\/p>\n<p>Tatyana&#8217;s life began in St. Petersburg, Russia. She was born with spina bifida, a neural-tube defect that left her paralyzed from the waist down. \u2028Abandoned by her birth mother, she was sent to an orphanage. The orphanage had no money for a wheelchair, so Tatyana walked on her hands, dragging her legs behind her.<\/p>\n<p>During her first six years of life, she struggled to survive.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>When Tatyana was six,\u00a0Deborah McFadden visited the orphanage. Ms. McFadden was a commissioner for disabilities in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Ms. McFadden adopted Tatyana. In May 1995, Ms. McFadden brought her newly adopted daughter home to Ellicott City, Maryland.<\/p>\n<p>Tatyana&#8217;s athletic career began with swimming lessons at a local program for children with disabilities. She has competed successfully in basketball, hockey, tennis, archery and wheelchair racing.<\/p>\n<p>In 2004, Tatyana won two medals (silver &#8211; 100m; bronze &#8211; 200m) at the Paralympic Games in Athens. At 15, she was the youngest member of the U.S. Paralympic Track &amp; Field Team.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tatyana Sues Howard County Schools<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Tatyana and her mother believe that children and adolescents with disabilities should have the same opportunities to participate in sports and PE programs as children who are not disabled.<\/p>\n<p>In 2006, Tatyana sued for Howard County School for the right to\u00a0compete on the same track, at the same time, as her teammates. School officials claimed that her racing chair created a safety hazard and gave her an unfair advantage. The\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mdlclaw.org\/chemicalcms\/home.php\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Maryland Disability Law Center<\/span><\/a> filed a lawsuit citing the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits exclusion of persons with disabilities from activities that receive federal funds.<\/p>\n<p>U. S. District Court Judge Andre Davis agreed and granted a temporary injunction that allowed Tatyana to compete on the track with others. &#8220;She\u2019s not suing for blue ribbons, gold ribbons or money \u2014 she just wants to be out there when everyone else is out there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>A few months later, the school district relented.<\/p>\n<p>Tatyana&#8217;s victory was short-lived. A few weeks later, the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association ruled that wheelchair athletes, while allowed to race in certain events in regional and state meets, could not\u00a0 earn points for their school teams.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Video of Tatyana, Teen Wheelchair Athlete<\/strong> (01:46)<br \/>\nLink: <a href=\"http:\/\/video.google.com\/videoplay?docid=7458174653136725079#\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">http:\/\/video.google.com\/videoplay?docid=7458174653136725079#<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><object width=\"100\" height=\"100\" data=\"http:\/\/video.google.com\/googleplayer.swf?docid=7458174653136725079&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=true\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\"><param name=\"id\" value=\"VideoPlayback\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/video.google.com\/googleplayer.swf?docid=7458174653136725079&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=true\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><\/object><\/p>\n<p><strong>Maryland Passes Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities Act<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\nIn 2008, the Maryland legislature passed the Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities Act.<\/p>\n<p>This landmark law requires boards of education to develop policies to include students with disabilities in their physical education classes and athletic activities. The law requires schools to provide students with reasonable accommodations to participate, the chance to try out for school teams, and access to alternative sports opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>The Maryland law is the only state law of its kind in the nation, and could be a model for other states, or for federal legislation.<\/p>\n<p>The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, <span style=\"color: #000080;\">is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.edweek.org\/ew\/articles\/2009\/11\/23\/13speced_ep.h29.html?tkn=RWWFjgrdii7qEXVXVIsYGcpm%2BgbL%2FfvRquWt\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">conducting research on this issue<\/span><\/a><\/span> (see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.edweek.org\/ew\/articles\/2009\/11\/23\/13speced_ep.h29.html?tkn=RWWFjgrdii7qEXVXVIsYGcpm%2BgbL%2FfvRquWt\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">GAO Probes Access of Students with Disabilities to Sports<\/span><\/a> at<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.edweek.org\/ew\/articles\/2009\/11\/23\/13speced_ep.h29.html?tkn=RWWFjgrdii7qEXVXVIsYGcpm%2BgbL%2FfvRquWt\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">http:\/\/www.edweek.org\/ew\/articles\/2009\/11\/23\/13speced_ep.h29.html?tkn=RWWFjgrdii7qEXVXVIsYGcpm%2BgbL%2FfvRquWt<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>What happened to Tatyana?<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\nTatyana is a student at the University of Illinois and a member of the renowned University of Illinois wheelchair program.<\/p>\n<p>At the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usparalympics.org\/athletes\/2216\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">2008 Pararlympic Games in Beijing<\/span><\/a>, she won four medals (three silver, one bronze), proving that she is one of the best wheelchair racers in the world. http:\/\/www.usparalympics.org\/athletes\/2216<\/p>\n<p>In October 2009, Tatyana broke the 17-year old wheelchair <a href=\"http:\/\/chicago.metromix.com\/events\/photogallery\/2009-chicago-marathon-in\/1525997\/photo\/1526004\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">course record for the Chicago Marathon<\/span><\/a> by nearly five minutes with a time of 1:39.56.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/chicago.metromix.com\/events\/photogallery\/2009-chicago-marathon-in\/1525997\/photo\/1526004\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">http:\/\/chicago.metromix.com\/events\/photogallery\/2009-chicago-marathon-in\/1525997\/photo\/1526004<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We expect Tatyana to break more records and inspire other young athletes. Stay tuned!<ins datetime=\"2009-11-24T23:21:06+00:00\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tatyana McFadden has spinal bifida and uses a wheelchair. She is a Paralympics medalist and world record holder. As a high school freshman,\u00a0 Tatyana sued her school for the right <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/athlete-sues-for-right-to-compete-state-passes-athletics-equity-law\/\">Continue Reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,3,1363,1365,7,1277],"tags":[451,450,443,440,438,436,442,441,452,435,439,437],"class_list":["post-1784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-accommodations-modifications","category-advocacy","category-discrimination-section-504-adaa","category-medical-health-care","category-legal-news","category-supplementary-aids-and-services","tag-adapted-pe","tag-athlete","tag-athletics","tag-fitness-and-athletics-equity-for-students-with-disabilities","tag-maryland-disability-law-center","tag-paralympics","tag-physical-education","tag-sports","tag-supplementary-aids","tag-tatyana-mcfadden","tag-wheelchair-athletes","tag-wheelchair-race"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1784"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1838,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784\/revisions\/1838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}