Parents, students and coaches urge Madison district to reinstate inclusion for West High swim team

Dozens of students, parents and community members urged the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education to reverse a recent decision to remove students with disabilities from the Madison West High School girls swim and dive team and to adopt district‑wide policies that make participation inclusive.

Public commenters said the cut affected at least two students they named — Asha Shukla and Aurelia (last name not specified in testimony) — who had practiced with West as exhibition or non‑scoring swimmers for the past one to two seasons. Parents and students said West’s head coach, Amanda Elmaker, had previously allowed exhibition participation and that the team’s new cuts were announced with little or no individualized explanation.

Speakers said the decision did not appear to follow the individualized inquiry that federal guidance requires before denying a requested accommodation. “The district has not shown us why they made their decision,” said Asha Shukla, identifying herself as a senior at West High School. “The district has not given us any evidence of how we harm our team. The district has not offered reasonable accommodations that the law required.”

Supporters and family members described multiple harms beyond exclusion of individual students: they said cuts harmed teammates’ sense of community and undercut the district’s stated equity and belonging goals. “Removing these students from a swim team constitutes steps backward for MMSD and Madison’s manifestation of inclusion,” said a parent speaker, who added that the cuts send a message to younger students that “disability equals disqualified.” Lucia Bergstrom, identified in public comment as a seventh grader and the sister of one affected student, said her sister had looked forward to being part of the West community and was “the happiest ever” when told she would be on the team earlier this year.

Several speakers — including Ben Uphoff (a former West swimmer and coach and a parent) and Krishan Olson (a parent who identified himself as a person with cerebral palsy) — praised Coach Amanda Elmaker’s past work to include students with disabilities as non‑scoring teammates and urged the district to align practice with MMSD policy and the district’s strategic commitments. “What coach Elmaker has done — giving non‑scoring and exhibition roles to students so that they can belong, practice and compete safely without changing the rules of the competition — is exemplary,” Olson said.

Multiple commenters asked the board to restore the exhibition participation while the district documents any individualized inquiries and accommodation analyses. Ben Uphoff urged reinstatement until “such due process has been provided,” and other parents asked for clearer, district‑wide guidance so families know how to request accommodations in athletics.

Speakers pointed to federal guidance from the U.S. Department of Education and the Office for Civil Rights that, they said, requires an individualized inquiry before a school denies an accommodation. One parent said she had requested documentation of that required inquiry and had not received it; she warned the board the district faces “legal jeopardy” if the district relied on stereotypes or generalizations rather than individualized determinations.

Board members did not take action during the public‑comment period documented in the transcript. The remainder of the meeting moved on to other agenda items, including a comprehensive presentation on the district’s 2024–25 student data and improvement plans.

Community members left the board with specific requests: reinstate the exhibition swim participation as it existed the previous two years; adopt district‑wide policies and communication procedures to ensure families understand how to request athletic accommodations; and publicly document any individualized analyses the district relied on in making participation decisions.

Ending: The speakers asked the Board of Education to use its oversight role to ensure MMSD’s stated values of belonging and equity are applied to extracurriculars as well as classroom instruction. The transcript records robust public engagement on the issue, but no formal board decision on the swim team membership was reported in the meeting record provided.