Demand For Adjustments To EVSC Extracurricular Athletics Policy

July 20, 2020

David Smith, Superintendent.
Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation 951 Walnut Street
Evansville, Indiana 47713

RE: Demand for Adjustments to EVSC Extracurricular Athletics Policy

Mr. Smith,

The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation (“EVSC”) has formed the Virtual Academy. The Virtual Academy offers students a feasible alternative to in-person learning by allowing students to learn from home. Learning from home reduces students’ risk of community exposure to COVID-19. This is great, but there are no workable substitutes to in-person extracurricular athletics.

In general, sports require in-person physical activity. Athletics are important because they provide students with high school experience, life lessons, social development, athletic development, and college scholarship opportunities. These benefits justify facing COVID-19 risks for many students. But the EVSC won’t allow Virtual Academy students to take part in athletics. Under the current policy, EVSC requires students to attend in-person learning at brick-and-mortar high schools in order to participate in athletics.

In effect, EVSC has implemented an all-or-nothing policy where students must choose to face COVID-19 exposure while at school in order to be able to play a sport. Instead, EVSC should provide its Virtual Academy students the same athletic opportunities as in-person students. That way, Virtual Academy students could avoid risk where feasible and still benefit from high school sports participation.

Certainly, COVID-19 presents challenges to our academic system, but all-or-nothing policies are poor approaches that do not accommodate students’ needs in learning, health, safety, development, and opportunity. If Virtual Academy students

cannot participate in athletics, EVSC will cause irreparable harm by denying these students experiences, life lessons, social development, athletic development, and college scholarship opportunities.

Brian Bennett’s son, Sean Bennett, plans to attend the EVSC Virtual Academy. Brian believes that Sean should attend the Virtual Academy because Sean has asthma. Sean’s asthma creates a heightened risk of the more severe symptoms of COVID-19.

In fact, many mothers and fathers are disturbed by the risk of COVID-19 exposure emanating from in-person learning at EVSC brick-and-mortar schools. For this reason, parents like Brian prefer to enroll their children in the EVSC Virtual Academy as a reasonable substitute for in-person learning. However, many parents recognize that there is no substitute for athletic participation that confers equivalent benefits upon their participants.

Further, for students like Sean Bennett who have disabilities and seek an equal opportunity to participate in extracurricular athletics, the EVSC is required to make reasonable accommodations and cannot discriminate against such students. Currently, Brian Bennett believes that EVSC has (1) failed to make reasonable accommodations for Sean Bennett and other similarly situated students in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; and (2) discriminated against Sean Bennett and other similarly situated students on the basis of disability in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

For the EVSC’s 2020-2021 academic year currently being scheduled to begin on August 19, 2020, Brian Bennett demands the EVSC to change its policies by July 24th, 2020, to allow students with disabilities and Virtual Academy students the same opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities as afforded to in-person students. If the EVSC fails to meet this demand, continues to discriminate, fails to accommodate, or commits any other unlawful act toward Sean Bennett and other similarly situated students, then Brian Bennett will pursue legal action against the EVSC seeking an injunction, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and all other just and proper relief.

Sincerely,

Brandon S. Danks, Attorney No. 35512-49 Danks, and Danks, LLC

1 SE 9th Street, Suite 101 Evansville, Indiana, 47708 (812) 426-1000 (Office) (812) 426-0751 (Fax) brandon@danks-danks.com Attorney for Brian Bennett