Tatyana McFadden can take solace in the fact that she fought the fight so that others -- notably her sister in a few years -- won't have to.

In July, after years of pushing and a testimony by McFadden in front of the Maryland General Assembly, the "Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities" bill was put into effect. The new legislation was a huge breakthrough in that it will require Maryland public schools to provide disabled students with equal access to physical education programs and high school sports teams, either among themselves or with able-bodied students.

Schools have three years to comply, and it is estimated that it will cost more than $2 million statewide to implement the program.

While McFadden is headed off to college and won't reap the benefits of the bill, her sister, Hannah, a wheelchair athlete going into seventh grade at Lime Kiln Middle School and already a swimming and track star, will have an easier time.

"It was a long process, and some days were a roller-coaster ride, but the end result is what I was hoping for," said McFadden, who had to fight to be a part of the high school track team at Atholton. "It's something that I really wanted to have happen before I graduated, just so that I could open doors for those that come along in the future. They don't have to be shy about it or be afraid of being turned away."

Maryland is the first state to pass the sports equity law and McFadden's mother, Deborah, is hoping others will follow suit.

"The landscape for people with disabilities has been forever changed now, the precedent has been set," Deborah McFadden said. "States can now either be proactive or reactionary going forward, but at the very least real progress is being made."

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