To Play or Not to Play: Equitable Access to Afterschool Programs for Students With Disabilities

Abstract

In this case, a child with a spinal cord injury was denied access to an afterschool care program that her nondisabled siblings were allowed to attend because she did not meet “eligibility requirements.” Specifically, the independent contractor who ran the program mandated that students be able to function in an environment with a student to teacher ratio of 15:1. District personnel initially claimed that the decision to deny admission was not their responsibility because the program was not administered by the schools, while the contractor claimed that they could not hire additional personnel without district approval.