WHAT IS TITLE IX AND WHAT ARE ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN?
The Law Reads: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
In the years following the passage of Title IX in 1972, many advances have been made for girls and women in sport, but equity has yet to be achieved. In our colleges and universities, women receive $133 million dollars per year less in athletic scholarship dollars than male athletes and women's recruiting budgets are only 32% of the total recruiting budget. Major discrepancies still exist in the area of facilities, travel schedules, and support services. In the majority of high school athletic programs, girls programs are still struggling for equity in equipment provided, facilities, scheduling of games and practice times, and number of opportunities to participate. We have yet to reach the point of fairness in America's education sports programs when the boys/men are willing to exchange their programs for the girls/women's programs. True equity will be reached when male athletes are willing to accept what the female athletes are receiving in their sports programs.
Title IX Alert!
This is to update you on the recent threats to Title IX.
As a review, the Title IX proportionality provision of the three-part athletics opportunities test was contested by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, since some colleges are choosing to drop men's teams as a way of complying with Title IX, instead of adding women's teams.
On May 29, 2002, the U.S. Department of Education General Counsel Brian Jones issued a statement regarding the department's motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought forth by the National Wrestling Coaches Association against Title IX. In summary, the motion to dismiss the case was based on three technical, procedural reasons:
1) The National Wrestling Coaches Association does not have standing to bring the suit. They do not have standing because the relief they seek-reinstatement of terminated men's teams-would not happen simply because this particular court invalidates the OCR's interpretation. Only those institutions-and not this court-can reinstate those teams;
2) This type of lawsuit should be filed directly against the educational institutions and not the U.S. Department of Education; and
3) The statute of limitations to contest the 1980 Title IX regulations and 1979 policy interpretation has expired.
The official motion to dismiss the National Wrestling Coaches Association lawsuit also included the following statement from Jones, "Today's filing does not address the underlying merits of the plaintiff's case." This statement has caused alarm among advocates of Title IX.
According to the National Women's Law Center, the absence of any support for the long-standing Title IX policies in the motion to dismiss the case adds to the concern that the Bush Administration is poised to weaken the policies, which have greatly expanded opportunities for student female athletes.
Apart from the motion to dismiss, Jones made the statement that the U.S. Department of Education strongly supports Title IX and that Title IX has opened up opportunities for young women in both academics and sports. He also stated that the department should strive to expand opportunities for women in a way that does not diminish existing men's teams.
In summary, we can breathe a small sigh of relief that the Department of Education wants the wrestling lawsuit thrown out; however, there still exists a very real concern about the commitment of the Bush Administration to uphold the long-standing Title IX regulations and policy interpretations.
In this regard, I would encourage you to contact the President, members of Congress and the Department of Education to voice your support of existing Title IX regulations and policy interpretations. The Legislative Action Center is available on our website and can be used for this purpose. A sample form letter will be available shortly.
The National Wrestling Coaches Association has until June 10 to respond to the motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Thank you for your support in celebrating 30 Years of Title IX - June 23, 2002.
Athena Yiamouyiannis
Executive Director
National Association for Girls and Women in Sport
Factoids