In America, people with disabilities are guaranteed civil rights to enable them to live with as much freedom and independence as possible. These rights are guaranteed through federal legislation. An important component of this legislation is the right of students with disabilities to have a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. A part of this free and appropriate education is physical education. Many students with disabilities have the need for adaptive physical education. Providing physical education for disabled students has periodically presented school districts with controversies. The controversy of how to best serve the disabled student population with physical education can be answered by examining and applying the various pieces of legislation, by enabling the physical education teacher to access the appropriate resources and equipment, and by promoting and adhering to a philosophy which encourages and builds upon individual students' strengths.
The controversies began with the passage of several pieces of legislation. The first of these pieces of legislation was the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act forbid discrimination based on a person's handicap by any federal agency, defense contractor, public university, or any other agency receiving federal funds (Shapiro 65-66). This legislation gave the disabled population a taste of what it meant not to be excluded based solely on their handicap. Physical activities and recreation were now available for individuals with disabilities. An activist in the disabled rights movement, Ed Roberts stated succinctly during a demonstration to prevent changes to the regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act; "Integration is the key word, people with disabilities have to come back into our society" (Shapiro 68). The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 gave students with disabilities the same opportunitie...