Page 149 - 2023-24 By-Laws

Rule 100 - Unified Sports® Rules
Part IV: Unified Sports Rules

Special Olympics Unified Sports combines approximately equal numbers of Special Olympics
athletes (individuals with intellectual disabilities) and partners (individuals without intellectual
disabilities) as teammates on sport teams for training and competition.

Champions Together is a joint effort between the IHSAA and Special Olympics Indiana (SOIN)
which includes the goal of incorporating Unified Sports© programs in IHSAA member Schools
recognizing and offering opportunities for students with and without disabilities to compete in
an IHSAA sanctioned activity.

Philosophy:
The focus of IHSAA Unified Sports is competition (not simply participation). Sports teach many
life lessons: to work as a team, to follow rules and to be committed. Through sports we can
find shared interests that allow friendships to form. Through the IHSAA recognized Unified
Sports© we have an opportunity to make real positive changes in the lives of students with
and without disabilities.

We must have high expectations for students with intellectual disabilities because if we do not,
we are teaching another generation of regular education students that people with intellectual
disabilities can’t follow rules or be held accountable and as a result they will not be viable
members of their community or society in general.
• Unified Sports© programs shall be administered by each participating member School and
follow the requirements per IHSAA Bylaws for eligibility, rules and program administration.
• Unified Sports© tournaments shall be administered by the IHSAA staff and the rules of
the National Federation will govern the sport when applicable.
RULE 100 – UNIFIED SPORTS – GENERAL
100-1 Vision of Unified Sports
The vision of the IHSAA/Special Olympics Indiana (SOIN) Unified Sports project is to allow
high school students with and without intellectual disabilities the opportunity to represent their
high school in an IHSAA sanctioned activity by participating on a Unified Sports team providing
the students with a quality experience of sports training and competition.
100-1.1 Definition of Participants:
a. Unified Student Athlete: A Unified Student Athlete is a student who is receiving special
education and related services pursuant to an individual education program (IEP) based on a
cognitive, developmental and/or intellectual delay or disability. NOTE OF CLARIFICATION:
The presence of an IEP does not necessarily qualify a student to be designated as a
Unified Student-Athlete. Any student with an IEP based on a cognitive, developmental
and/or intellectual delay or disability and is non-diploma track or certificate of completion
is designated as a Unified Student-Athlete. A student that is diploma track but has an IEP
with an Autism-Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis or other Intellectual/Cognitive Disability
may also be designated as a Unified Student-Athlete.
b. Unified Student Partner: A Unified Student Partner is a student that meets the eligibility
criteria outlined in General Eligibility rules 1-20, but is NOT identified by the school as a
Unified Student Athlete. A Unified Student-Partner is a student who is a general education
student and is on a diploma track and who does not qualify as a Unified Student-Athlete as
described above. A general education student with a 504 Plan does not qualify as a Unified
Student-Athlete. Also, a diploma-track student with an IEP for the following disabilities must
be designated as a Unified Student-Partner as these are not determined to be intellectual
disabilities: Specific Learning Disability (SLD), Emotional Disability (ED), Other Health
Impairment (OHI), Orthopedic Impairment (OI), Attention Deficit- Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD), Attention-Deficit Disorder (ADD), general resource.

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