Fifth-year disabled students in NY can now play sports under new rule

From The Buffalo News:

A year after rules kept special education student Jordan Maliken (pictured) from joining his Amherst Central High School track teammates and competing for a fifth season, the state Board of Regents voted unanimously July 19 for statewide change.

School superintendents have been authorized to allow fifth-year students with disabilities to be non-scoring participants in non-contact sports — swimming and diving, golf, track and field, cross country, rifle, bowling, gymnastics, skiing and archery.

“For a child with a disability, athletics is part and parcel of their education,” said Bob Bennett, Western New York’s representative on the Board of Regents. “It’s something that I think will benefit a lot of kids who want to and should participate.”

The new rule, which takes effect next week as an emergency provision, will be voted on again as a permanent change in the fall, Bennett said. Decisions made by superintendents are subject to appeal to the state education commissioner.

“It literally takes a quantum leap,” said Assemblyman Jim Hayes, R-Amherst, who lobbied for the change by first proposing legislation.

The public pressure for change began in spring 2009 when “Jordie” Maliken, then a 20-year-old senior, was banned from running in competitions with the rest of his high school track team because he was in his fifth year of high school.

The extra year is allowed in the educational programs of students with disabilities, but rules limited sports participation in competition to four years and did not make exceptions.

In May 2009, former Education Commissioner Richard Mills thwarted the wishes of local educators and refused to grant an exemption for Maliken to run with his teammates at the end of his last season. A public outcry erupted. People signed an online petition, and Hayes submitted a bill to let local school officials decide.

Hayes said he began negotiating earlier this year with new Education Commissioner David Steiner for a rule change instead of a new law. As Hayes took on the cause, other parents of children with disabilities contacted him saying they, too, had problems with the four-year sports limit.

The rule change isn’t enough for some. Parents with a son who plays football have told Hayes they would like to see contact sports allowed, too.

“I’m going to keep pushing,” Hayes said.

Maliken, now 21, has moved on with his life, said his father, Greg Maliken. The young man is working with the nonprofit People Inc. to try different supervised work programs to find a job that will fit.

Greg Maliken said he was pleased his family’s efforts led to change that will help others. “It’s kind of a frustrating process to see how long it takes to get anything done,” he said by phone Monday evening before going on a bike ride with his son. “We’re happy to see that it finally happened.”