Posted at 3:15 p.m., Monday, May 14, 2007
Maryland wheelchair athlete loses state track fight
Advertiser Staff
BALTIMORE — A teenager who uses a wheelchair can't earn points for racing with her high school track team in regional and state tournaments until Maryland officials change the rules, a federal judge has decided.Tatyana McFadden, who has spina bifida, had sued the Maryland State Board of Education. She had previously won the right to race alongside her teammates and have her results figure in the team's final score in a settlement with Howard County Public Schools. That is the only Maryland district that permits wheelchair athletes to score for their teams.
U.S. District Judge Andre Davis ruled Saturday that while state rules may be unfair to wheelchair athletes, they are not discriminatory under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Davis agreed that the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association's rules governing disabled and nondisabled athletes need to be changed, but said it is up to education officials to develop a scoring system with parity.
"Are we disappointed? Of course we are, but I'm happy the judge is recognizing that there should be points, and it should be fair," said McFadden's mother, Deborah McFadden. "I believe that the state has a lot of smart people, and they can figure this out."
McFadden, whose legs are paralyzed, won two medals at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens and plans to compete in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. For her high school team, McFadden, 18, plans to race this month in the 200-meter and 400-meter events.
