A Contra Costa County school district's use of wood chips in play boxes makes it harder for boys and girls in wheelchairs to get to swings and slides, a violation of the disabled children's rights, a federal judge has ruled.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland could lead to replacement of wood chips with firmer surfaces in public playgrounds at other schools and parks around the country, said a representative of the group that sued the Mount Diablo Unified School District in central Contra Costa.

"Our experts and people with disabilities tell us that wood chip surfaces are not accessible,'' said Larry Paradis, executive director of Disability Rights Advocates. "They constantly form mounds and gullies ... and they're impossible to maintain. Little kids in wheelchairs are already struggling to get around, they have less muscular strength, and it's important that play structures be easily accessible for them so they can be mainstreamed (with other children) as much as possible.''

Wilken ruled this week that the Mount Diablo district, which has 32 elementary schools and 16 middle and high schools, was violating a 2000 agreement to make its playgrounds accessible to the disabled because it uses wood chips. She gave school officials a month to work out a replacement plan with Disability Rights A Read More

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