In this case, the blinders are taking the summary wordings of a reporter as a proxy for the DOE in lieu of the
actual wording in the
actual PDF of the
actual DOE.
For example, it's ludicrous to think that "wheelchair football" or "legless swimming" will ever have a "comparable standing" to regular football or regular swimming, just as men's lacrosse doesn't have the same "comparable standing" to men's basketball or football right now. The DOE never uses the phrase "comparable standing" at all in it's order. The only phrase even remotely approaching "comparable standing" is the sentence, "These athletic opportunities provided by school districts should be supported equally, as with a school district’s other athletic activities." That's a far cry from "comparable standing," and all that it means is that any newly created program must be fully supported, just as the other athletic programs are supported. For example, there are a few schools who have wheelchair tennis teams which give those in wheelchairs the
opportunity to participate in team athletics. Some schools may only have one or two participants which isn't enough to field a team, so the have teamed up with other smaller schools to form intraschool teams for competitions.
In all fairness to you, the AP article at Yahoo didn't even reference the actual order. They, instead, want to spoonfeed information to you and tell you want you're supposed to think about all this. I suggest not doing that, and read the actual order for yourself.
Here 'tis:
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201301-504.pdf
