The purpose of this paper is to discuss the limitations of law interpretations and policy regulations as they pertain to inclusion and exclusion of people with physical disabilities in physical education. We believe interpretation of the law has professional implications that must be addressed. Specifically, the ideal and the reality of the laws…

Physical education classrooms reflect a range of learners, movers, and abilities. Incoming physical educators report lacking confidence and knowledge in their ability to create inclusive lesson plans. Many undergraduate and liberal studies students are required to take one adaptative physical education pedagogy course; thus, incoming educators…

Implementation of the IDEA law is designed for schools to educate all students in the least restrictive environment. However, without the awareness and understanding of all educators involved, key components of the federal law could be sidestepped. Collaboration between general physical education (GPE) and adapted physical education (APE) teachers…

Public school administrators in the United States are required to supervise special education services, which include physical education and adapted physical education (APE). Although school administrators supervise and provide resources to support APE services, APE teachers have indicated that school administrators often interfere with their…

The purpose of this article is to share a validated IEP [individualized education program] checklist for PE [physical education]. This tool can be used by administrators, physical and adapted physical educators, parents, and specialists.

The majority of physical education teacher education (PETE) programs include some form of adapted physical education (APE) training for preservice teachers; yet PETE candidates report feeling underprepared to teach individuals with disabilities. The number of students with disabilities included in general education continues to grow, in accordance…

Introduction: Children who are deafblind have unique educational needs, especially when it comes to developing a foundation for recreation. This foundation includes a well-rounded physical education program. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of adults who are deafblind as they recall their involvement in physical…

Physical education teachers are often focused on the many benefits of physical education to students, but there must also be a consideration of risk. How can the risks in physical education be minimized to maximize the benefits? One way to accomplish this goal is to increase physical educators' understanding of the legal risks related to…

Within adapted physical education (APE), there is a lack of knowledge regarding content and attitudes toward curricular domains, which can influence student learning. This study assessed APE teachers' attitudes toward four curricular domains. Participants (n = 219) completed a modified version of the Attitudes Toward Curriculum in Physical…

Introduction: It has been well established that children with visual impairments tend to be less physically active and more delayed in motor skills than their sighted peers. As a result, there has been some research focusing on inclusive physical education for these children. However, there is a clear lack of research on the current status of…

The Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates that all children who are eligible for special education services receive an individualized education program (IEP). Adapted physical education (APE) professionals who teach physical education to children with disabilities are challenged with how to best collect and monitor student…

This article explains the impact federal legislation has on educating students with disabilities, the changing roles of physical educators and school counselors relative to educating students with disabilities, and collaborative approaches pertaining to how physical educators and school counselors can collaboratively foster successful inclusion of…

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…

Physical educators of students with disabilities are frequently expected to participate in the development of individualized education programs (IEP), but sometimes this responsibility can be time-consuming. It is unrealistic to attend every meeting for every student with a disability and those receiving special education services. Physical…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the employment market of adapted physical education (APE) careers in higher education since 1975 to see if the increase of this market has continued since 1998. Based on the data collected from the "Chronicle of Higher Education", a total of 887 APE job openings have been posted since 1975,…