ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — As the federal government pushes schools to include more disabled students in athletics, Minnesota offers a map for how to do it.
Forty years ago, a group of Minnesota teens started a sports league for high school students with disabilities. They adapted floor hockey rules to allow for the use of wheelchairs and walkers and then expanded into soccer and softball.
Today, the league is a thriving statewide organization that offers four sports, awards letters and runs championships.
The Education Department last week declared that schools should make “reasonable modifications” for disabled students who want to play on traditional sports teams or in their own leagues. It’s not clear exactly how the order will be implemented.
Participation in the Minnesota Adapted Athletics Association has more than doubled since 1994.
