Special Olympics and Alaska's Special Education Students

Abstract

The 2001 Special Olympics World Winter Games were held in Anchorage in March 2001, bringing close to 2,000 athletes with mental disabilities and more than 740 coaches from 70 countries to Alaska. As part of the planning for the 2001 winter games, the Game Organizing Committee established the Special Olympics School Enrichment Program. With funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the School Enrichment Program contracted with the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), at the University of Alaska Anchorage, to learn more about Alaska’s special education students. Knowing how many special education students there are in Alaska, where they live, and what their disabilities are could be quite useful to Special Olympics Alaska in its efforts to recruit more school-age athletes into local area and school programs. Also, more information about Alaska’s special education students can also help Special Olympics Alaska move toward another of its goals: bringing children with and without disabilities together in classrooms, on the playing fields, and in other activities.