Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Equip for Equality recently filed a lawsuit aimed at making it possible for student-athletes with disabilities to compete in future Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state meets. The complaint charges the IHSA with violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act.
The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, accuses the IHSA of violating disabilities laws by not providing equal access to competitions. The suit asks for an injunction ordering the IHSA “to cease unlawful discrimination against athletes with disabilities,” and to “create more opportunities for athletes with disabilities by setting state-qualifying standards for those athletes in individual sports including swimming and track and field.”
According to Madigan, the suit seeks to force the IHSA to allow disabled swimmers and track-and-field athletes to compete and earn points in all competition starting with the 2012-13 year, including their own classification at state championships. The IHSA could then add opportunities in other sports at a later time.
Equip for Equality claims that more than a dozen states already have the kind of provisions needed for disabled athletes to compete in sanctioned events, similar to those that the lawsuit seeks.
“This lawsuit seeks to bring Illinois in line with many other states, which already fully include student athletes with disabilities,” said Zena Naidtich, Equip for Equality’s president.
“The Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association (GLASA) has offered over the years to work with the IHSA to put these standards and times in place,” said Madigan. “They have worked with a lot of other states; Wisconsin and Minnesota are way ahead of us.”
Alan Goldstein, senior attorney for Equip for Equality, added, “Many other states already do what we are asking the IHSA to do.”
According to the suit, the plaintiffs asked the IHSA to make accommodations for disabled athletes at state track and swimming meets, but the “IHSA did not respond to these requests.”
Instead, the IHSA filed a lawsuit of its own against the attorney general in April, in state court in McLean County, asking a judge to find that the association’s current policies don’t violate disabilities laws. The lawsuit is pending.
“The reason we did that is we received a letter from the Attorney General’s office [saying] they felt we were violating state and federal law,” IHSA executive director Marty Hickman said.
“We weren’t looking to turn this into a fight. We filed for a declaratory judgment asking the court to tell us what our obligations are. We’re perplexed by this filling.”
The IHSA has since set up a committee to consider additional options for disabled athletes. The committee heard testimony from representatives from GLASA, parents and schools on April 30 and is to report its progress to the IHSA Board of Directors on June 11.
“We are confident that by working together we will help raise awareness about the abilities of people with disabilities and continue to be a leader,” said Hickman.
