Twenty-five percent of students in the United States are children of immigrant parents, who are considered English language learners (ELLs). As a collective ELL group, their performance level on every measure from achievement scores to graduation rates tends to be lower than almost any other category of students. With over five million ELL…

Part I of the feature describes the historical path of the Dear Colleague Letter and discusses the specific road to this landmark guidance, what it means, and how the leadership and action of the Office for Civil Rights will pave the way for students with disabilities to participate in sports the same way that Title IX has enabled participation…

According to Court records, student Pedro Godoy (Godoy) filed a suit against the school district (Central Islip Union Free School District) and teacher Otis R. Scerbo (Scerbo), seeking to recover damages for personal injuries allegedly sustained by Godoy while participating in a game of floor hockey during physical education class. Scerbo (the…

There are many benefits to having young children train or practice on balance boards. The physical education setting allows educators to provide opportunities for youth to develop essential fitness skills that can be transferred into other life experiences. Balance-board activities and exercises can help in training the central and peripheral…

This article describes a programmatic approach to undergraduate research (UGR) at Washington State University. In a programmatic approach, UGR is woven throughout the curriculum, with the expressed intent of producing undergraduate students who have at least a moderate ability to read, use, conduct, and present research. Washington State…

This article describes a senior seminar course in the Health and Human Performance (HHP) Department at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. All students in the HHP department are required to complete the course. The emphases within HHP include physical education, health education, and exercise and sport science. In this course students learn…

This article described the faculty-sponsored, faculty-driven approach to undergraduate research (UGR) at Auburn University. This approach is centered around research in the Pediatric Movement and Physical Activity Laboratory, and students can get elective course credit for their participation in UGR. The article also describes how students'…

"Helping General Physical Educators and Adapted Physical Educators Address the Office of Civil Rights Dear Colleague Guidance Letter: Part IV--Sport Groups" provides the the following articles: (1) "Sport Programming Offered by Camp Abilities and the United States Association for Blind Athletes" (Lauren Lieberman and Mark…

The current educational climate emphasizes the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education. This results in an increased effort to enhance and maintain an inclusive environment. Consequently, the use of paraeducators for support has increased (Giangreco, Broer, & Edelman, 2002). This is particularly true for physical education…

The rights of all students to participate in extracurricular programs are required by current law but are often nonexistent, misunderstood, or even sometimes purposely not shared with parents. This article is addressed to parents regarding the rights of their children with disabilities to participate in extracurricular sport activities. Included…

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) recently clarified that schools are required to provide students with disabilities (SWD) equal opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities (U.S. Department of Education [USDE] Office for Civil Rights, 2013). Schools have flexibility to design and expand extracurricular opportunities based on existing…

The number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is rapidly increasing throughout the United States. This increase also has an impact on participation in local community programs such as youth sports and recreational activities. The administrators of these agencies and departments will be required to develop and implement…

One of the major components in the development of quality extracurricular athletic (ECA) programs that involves the infusion of students who have been classified as educationally disabled is the preparation of effective, high-quality physical educators who will assume coaching positions (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2012). These coaches…

In Part III of the feature, physical educators and adapted physical educators offer current best practices as models of implementation for readers. Contributions included are: (1) Answer to the Dear Colleague Letter from the Anchorage School District's Adapted Sport Program (David Poulin); (2) Georgia's Adapted Physical Educators…

The main purpose of this article is to provide guidelines to physical educators for setting up a self-talk program during their lesson. The article briefly presents definitions of self-talk and research findings in sport and physical education to highlight the important benefits of positive self-talk in enhancing task performance. It also provides…