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Please see the attached AIA update.
In October of 2023, the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) issued the following notice regarding any future face covering requirements for athletic events:
Should COVID-related conditions require AIA to mandate face coverings (e.g., masks) for student athletes, their parents or other spectators in the future, persons with disabilities who cannot wear masks would be exempted and AIA will provide a process by which individuals with disabilities may request an exemption to the mandate with supporting medical documentation demonstrating that the individual cannot wear a mask due to disability;
AIA recognizes that enforcing a face covering requirement could impede individuals with disabilities’ access to the public school or district’s athletic programs or activities subject to AIA rules;
Individuals with disabilities may request reasonable modifications to AIA’s policies, practices, or procedures – including any addressing the use of face coverings – and AIA will grant reasonable modifications when they are necessary to avoid discrimination based on disability and can be made consistent with the health, safety, and well-being of all students and staff;
AIA and its member public schools and districts must comply with Section 504, Title II, and their implementing regulations, including that they must not aid or perpetuate discrimination against a qualified individual with a disability by providing significant assistance to an agency, organization or person that discriminates based on disability; and
If AIA or its member public schools or districts provide significant assistance to an outside entity and the entity is shown to have discriminated based on disability, the public school or district must take steps to obtain compliance from the organization or terminate its assistance.
In addition, the AIA issued revised policies and procedures that can be accessed at the following links:
https://aiaonline.org/files/18241/aia-policy-and-procedure-related-to-disability-discrimination.pdf
https://aiaonline.org/files/18079/article-43-sports-medicine.pdf
Please carefully review the revised policies and procedures and direct any questions to the District’s Superintendent and/or the AIA as appropriate.
Thank you,
Kevin St. John
District Superintendent