Grafton Designing Teams for Athletes With Limitations

Starting this spring, Grafton students whose limitations prevent them from playing traditional junior varsity and varsity sports will have more opportunities to compete athletically.

A new track and field team is being formed for special education students who want to play sports, but who would have a difficult if not impossible time playing on a traditional team.

"We're designing a program specifically designed for those who have substantial limitations," Grafton Special Education Administrator Arnold Lundwall said. 

Expanding athletic opportunities for students with disabilities has been on the minds of administrators for a while, Lundwall said. A recent letter from the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Office highlighted the need to offer more, but even before receiving that guidance, Grafton had been seeking out opportunities for students to participate in sports.

In January, for example, Grafton students competed in a Special Olympics bocce tournament in Greenfield.

The federal DOE in late January issued a directive reminding schools that students who can't participate in traditional sports programs must be offered alternative options.

"Unfortunately...(we) found that students with disabilities are not being afforded an equal opportunity to participate in extracurricular athletics in public elementary and secondary schools," the Jan. 25 memo from the DOE reads.

This directive, included in a lengthy memo, was a topic of discussion at a meeting of the Grafton Special Education Parent Advisory Council on March 14. 

"For some sports, to get (SPED) students to engage would require an amount of modification that would significantly alter the experience and the sport," Lundwall explained.

For example, the DOE would not expect the varsity football team to have on its roster a wheelchair-bound athlete. The DOE would, however, expect there to be other athletic opportunities for that student.

Lundwall referenced the town of Oxford, which has a unified basketball team that was highlighted in an article in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette last month.

Oxford would be among the districts competing against Grafton's new track and field team this season.

Lundwall said the team may be "unified," which means students with disabilities would be paired with non-disabled students. They'll compete in four meets culminating with a championship in May.

Lundwall expects the team will consist of as many as 20 students.

"We're all very excited about it," he said. "This could be one of those things that really takes off."