Latest News

The guidance concerns Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a law that deals with the rights of disabled people who participate in activities that receive federal dollars.

A school district "is required to provide a qualified student with a disability an opportunity to benefit from the school district's program equal to that of students without disabilities," according to the Education Department.

Advocates for disabled athletes, some of whom have pressed legal claims against state athletic associations in recent years, praised the clarification of rules and said that as a result, participation for disabled athletes could rise.

"This is a landmark moment for students with disabilities," Terri Lakowski, chief executive of Active Policy Solutions, a Washington-based advocacy group, said. "It will do for kids with disabilities what Title IX did for women. This level of clarity has been missing for years."

At least 12 states have passed laws in recent years requiring schools to include disabled students in sports and other extracurricular programs, and the Education Department's guidance is considered to be a complement to those laws.

"Taking them together with the state laws means more opportunities for disabled athletes," Lakowski said. "With Title IX, we learned that if you build it, they will come."

According to the department, a district's legal obligation to comply "supersedes any rule of any association, organization, club or league that would render a student ineligible to participate, or limit the eligibility of a student to participate" based on disability.

A 2010 report from the Government Accountability Office found that students with disabilities participated in athletics at consistently lower rates than students without disabilities. Administrators at districts surveyed by the office said they "lacked information and clarity regarding their responsibilities to provide opportunities" under the law.

Every student with a disability is not guaranteed a spot on an athletic team for which other students must try out, according to the Education Department. But districts must "afford qualified students with disabilities an equal opportunity for participation in extracurricular athletics in an integrated manner to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the student."

The department offered specific examples of what would be a violation of Section 504 with a focus on integrating disabled athletes onto teams alongside their able-bodied peers.

Kareem Dale, a special assistant to President Obama for disability policy, said in a call with reporters that athletic activity can help students gain character, confidence and interpersonal skills, and learn how to function in a team environment.