FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CR

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 1998

NCAA TO ALTER POLICY SO STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

CAN PLAY COLLEGE SPORTS, UNDER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AGREEMENT

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Collegiate Athletic

Association (NCAA) will revise policies that have prevented
hundreds of students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities
from playing college sports and getting a scholarship, under a
landmark agreement reached today with the Justice Department.

The agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington,

D.C., stems from a series of complaints lodged with the Justice
Department by student athletes over the past 2 1/2 years. The
complaints alleged that the NCAA's initial eligibility requirements
violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by discriminating
against student athletes with learning disabilities.

"An intelligent student who happens to have dyslexia can

succeed academically in college and should not be excluded from
playing college sports," said Acting Assistant Attorney General for
Civil Rights Bill Lann Lee. "With today's agreement, the NCAA is
opening doors for hundreds of students who want to go to college
and play sports."

After receiving a complaint in 1995, the Justice Department

launched a 30-month investigation into the way the NCAA grants
eligibility.

The NCAA requires a showing that a student can succeed

academically in college while playing sports. It determines
whether a student has met this standard based on a series of
eligibility requirements involving, courses taken, grade point
average, and standardized test scores. Students who do not meet
the NCAA requirements cannot receive athletics-related financial
aid or participate in sports.

Last October, at the completion of its investigation, the

Justice Department issued a letter of findings calling the NCAA's
eligibility requirements too "rigid." It found that the NCAA often
refused to give students with learning disabilities credit for
classes in which the materials or methods of instruction were
modified to accommodate the students' disabilities. The Justice
Department noted that many classes were rejected even though the
classes provided the same knowledge and skills as other courses
that were credited.

The NCAA also allegedly rejected classes if they were taught

within a school's "special education" department or if the title of
the class suggested the classes were "remedial," no matter what the
content of the course was.

Although the NCAA had a waiver policy, which granted certain

students exceptions to academic requirements, the Justice
Department found that the waiver process placed students with
learning disabilities at a significant disadvantage relative to
their peers. Mr. Lee noted that today's settlement enables the
NCAA to maintain its academic standards but modify the methods it
uses to assess whether students with learning disabilities meet
those standards.

Under the settlement, the NCAA will:

Certify classes designed for students with learning disabil-

ities, if the classes provide students with the same types of
skills and knowledge as those offered other college-bound
students;

Enable students with learning disabilities who do not meet the

initial eligibility rules when they graduate high school to
earn a fourth year of athletic eligibility if they complete a
substantial percentage of their degree work and maintain good
grades;

Direct the NCAA committees that evaluate applications filed by

students who do not meet the requirements but are seeking a
waiver to review the student's high school preparation and
performance when deciding whether to grant a waiver;

Include experts on learning disabilities on the committees

that evaluate a student's application for waiver;

Designate one or more employees as an "ADA Compliance

Coordinator," to serve as a resource to NCAA staff and as a
liaison with students with learning disabilities;

Train its staff on the new policies and publicize the terms of
the agreement to high schools, students, parents and member
colleges and universities; and,

Pay a total of $35,000 in damages to four student-athletes.

"We are pleased the NCAA has found an innovative solution that
ensures students are ready for college and yet does not
discriminate against students with learning disabilities," added
Mr. Lee.

Since the Justice Department issued its findings letter last

October, the NCAA already has made several changes to its policy.
This is the Justice Department's first court agreement filed
under the ADA regarding people with learning disabilities.

A learning disability is a neurological disorder that affects

a person's ability to process information that they see and hear,
or link information from different parts of the brain. Dyslexia,
a reading disability, is perhaps the most common form of learning
disability. It is estimated that between five and ten percent of
the population experiences learning disabilities.

For further information, individuals can call the Justice

Department's toll-free ADA Information Line. The hotline was
established by Attorney General Janet Reno as part of a nationwide
campaign to educate the public about the ADA. The number is
1-800-514-0301 (voice) or 1-800-514-0383 (TDD). The Justice Department
also has established an ADA home page on the World Wide Web at:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm

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