Womenstake

What ESPN Left on the Cutting Room Floor

by Lara S. Kaufmann, Senior Counsel, 
National Women’s Law Center 

If you watched ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” yesterday, you know it included a segment on a client of ours, a 17-year old high school senior in Fort Worth, Texas. In case you missed it, here it is:

Watch the Video

Our client is a top student, and she was the starting setter on the school’s varsity volleyball team until the athletic coordinator found out that she was pregnant. She was then denied an equal opportunity to play based on her pregnancy, in violation of Title IX’s prohibition against sex discrimination in education. Just last week, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights in Dallas opened an investigation into the matter.

The show was engaging, and I applaud ESPN for devoting media attention to the issue of discrimination against pregnant students, as it is still quite common but most often flies below the public’s radar. Too many people – students, parents, and school staff – still do not know that Title IX applies to schools’ treatment of pregnant and parenting students. (For more information on what Title IX requires in this regard, check out our resources on pregnant and parenting students).

Lots of People Listening to Latinas!

by Lara S. Kaufmann, Senior Counsel, 
National Women’s Law Center 

We are really excited about all of the attention surrounding the report we just released, Listening to Latinas: Barriers to High School Graduation. The report has gotten some good media coverage, and we’ve already been contacted by a number of people who heard about it and want to know what they can do to help address the dropout crisis for Latinas (41 percent of whom do not graduate from high school in four years -– if they graduate at all, which has extremely serious ramifications for their economic security and health). Well, there is a lot that schools and policy makers can do (more on that below), and we need all the help we can get! 

To explore the obstacles they face, we surveyed and interviewed Latinas across the country and the teachers and program staff who work with them every day. The girls we spoke with have very high aspirations. Many of them want to become doctors, nurses, lawyers and scientists. In fact, 98 percent of those we surveyed said that they want to at least graduate from high school, and 80 percent said that they hope to go to college. But far too many of them doubt they can make it: one-third of the girls we surveyed said they do not think they will be able to reach their educational goals.

As my colleague Christie asked in her blog post last week, “Why are so many Latinas forced to abandon their dreams?” They face so many challenges, many of which Christie very eloquently explained:

Many come from low income families, lack educational role models in their lives, and have parents who don’t speak English and have little understanding of the U.S. educational system. And many others end up tracked into lower level classes at underperforming schools — a product of stereotypes or deflated expectations by teachers and counselors. Still others fail to believe in themselves. … They know the financial barriers to affording college, and because they don’t see many professional Latinas around them, they cannot envision themselves succeeding academically or professionally.

New Video - What's at Stake: The Dropout Crisis for Girls

by Kolbe Franklin, Program Associate, 
National Women’s Law Center 

Every year, an estimated one in four girls drops out of high school — and the rates are even worse for girls of color.

Female dropouts face particularly steep economic consequences. As compared to their male peers, female dropouts have higher rates of unemployment, earn significantly lower wages, and are more likely to need to rely on public support programs. In the new video below, NWLC Senior Counsel Lara Kaufmann discusses some of the challenges facing female dropouts and provides insight into why dropout prevention is so important for girls.  For more information on the dropout crisis, check out our website.

The Personal is Political, Not Judicial

by Lara S. Kaufmann, Senior Counsel, 
National Women's Law Center

This post is part of a series about the nomination of Judge Sotomayor for the Supreme Court.

This morning, Senator Tom Coburn questioned Judge Sotomayor on a number of topics. While I have been watching the hearings mostly to hear what is said on women’s rights issues, my ears perked up when he was talking about the Second Amendment, as he went beyond Constitutional doctrine and asked:  “As a citizen of this country, do you believe innately in my ability to have self-defense of myself -- personal self-defense?”  In response, Judge Sotomayor explained that “the issue of self- defense is usually defined in criminal statutes by the state's laws,” but that was not enough for Senator Coburn. He went on: “But do you have an opinion, or can you give me your opinion, of whether or not in this country I personally, as an individual citizen, have a right to self-defense?” Again, Judge Sotomayor’s response was based on the law; she said that did not know if that legal question had ever been presented. Senator Coburn continued his badgering:  “I wasn't asking about the legal question. I'm asking about your personal opinion . . . I think that's what American people want to hear, Your Honor, is they want to know. Do they have a right to personal self-defense? . . . Does what the Constitution -- how [the American people] take the Constitution, not how our bright legal minds but what they think is important, is it OK to defend yourself in your home if you're under attack?”

Pregnant and Parenting Students: Know Your Rights

by Melanie Ross Levin, Outreach Manager, 
National Women’s Law Center 

Title IX says that schools must give all students who might be, are or have been pregnant (whether the student is a parent or not) the same access to school programs and extracurricular activities that other students have in school. Check out our new video and resources explaining the rights of pregnant and parenting students in school.

And find out more about the rights of pregnant and parenting students.

Teen Parents Falling Through the Cracks

by Lara S. Kaufmann, Senior Counsel, 
National Women’s Law Center 

I know, I know – we’re in a recession, the economy is terrible, it’s a tough time for everyone. Still, I try to be hopeful. But then I wake up and see a headline like this one: Program for Teen Parents Dropped: About 100 students in county schools learned skills to help them graduate while caring for their kids.

I’ve heard of this program – it’s called GRADS (Graduation, Reality, and Dual-Role Skills), and the curriculum has been used in a number of states. In the Springfield, Ohio area it serves about 100 students per year – predominantly female, but some are male – and about 25 of them attend the school that is cutting the program. The Ohio Department of Education did a study of the program’s effectiveness, and found that teen parents involved in GRADS are more likely to stay in school, to get early prenatal care, and to increase their knowledge of “positive parenting practices.” They also are less likely to have a second child (critical to dropout prevention) and to deliver low-weight babies. So why was it dropped? Budget cutbacks, of course! It costs $99,000 a year to run the program, and the state reimburses the district for only $33,000 of that. The superintendent explained that the school simply can no longer afford to have the program there. He said that perhaps guidance counselors can work with parenting students instead, and added: “We are looking at if there’s any way at all that the students could be served.” Whoa.

What Now for Teen Moms?

by Lara S. Kaufmann, Senior Counsel, 
National Women’s Law Center 

Today’s Washington Post features an article about MEI Futures School, the D.C. Charter School for teen moms that is closing down, and the impact its closure will have on the teen moms who go there.  The school was open for less than two years when its charter was revoked by the D.C. Charter School Board. Now, I do not yet know enough about why the school was closed to speculate about whether the closure is necessary or justified.

If the academic offerings at MEI Futures did not provide its students with educational opportunities equal to those of students in other D.C. public high schools, as article suggested – for example, it said that only two of the students were on track to graduate this year – that might violate Title IX and must be remedied.

But I can’t help but wonder: What now?  Many of these girls live in dorm rooms at the school, with their babies, who they take to the on-site child care center on their way to class. Will they find an affordable and welcoming place to live? Will they get access to affordable child care for their babies?  How will they get to and from school and daycare with their babies each day? Will they stay engaged and finish high school if they do not get the support they were getting from the MEI Futures faculty and fellow students?

In their new school setting, will they be stigmatized and discriminated against in violation of Title IX?   DCPS must find other ways to meet their needs, so the girls do not get discouraged and drop out – which would have terrible consequences for them, their children, and the rest of the community. We hope D.C. will take care of its students and future citizens. We’ll be watching.

National Day to Improve High School Graduation Rates

by Lara S. Kaufmann, Senior Counsel, 
National Women’s Law Center 

Today is the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. There are so many reasons it’s imperative to prevent teen pregnancy, but I want to draw your attention to just one: EDUCATION. Girls who get pregnant as teenagers are less likely to graduate from high school than those who delay childbearing. In fact, in a survey of high school dropouts conducted by the Gates Foundation, almost one-half of the females surveyed said that pregnancy and parenting responsibilities were factors in their decisions to drop out.

So pregnancy prevention doubles as a dropout prevention strategy. Schools that want to boost their graduation rates should invest resources in teen pregnancy prevention, including by offering sex education classes that give students medically accurate and comprehensive information, so that teens can make informed and responsible decisions. They can choose to have children later in life, but now is the time for them to focus on their education.

It works the other way too. Dropout prevention doubles as a pregnancy prevention strategy. Girls who are engaged in school, do well academically, are involved in sports or other activities – or who have strong goals for the future and beliefs that they will achieve those goals – are less likely to end up pregnant than those who are disengaged or otherwise show signs of dropping out. And once they have dropped out, certain groups of girls are more likely to get pregnant as teenagers. So schools that make serious efforts to keep girls in school will also reduce the likelihood that those girls will get pregnant.

It is critical that schools recognize the roles they can play and work to solve this problem from both sides. It’s also vital that policymakers make sure schools have adequate funding to address these problems effectively. Girls who drop out face high rates of unemployment, low wages, poor health and limited (if any) access to health insurance. They are more likely to need to rely on public support programs. Their children are more likely to have health problems and to drop out themselves. And so it goes . . .

We must put the brakes on this cycle, by preventing teen pregnancy and by helping girls to stay in school and graduate. Of course that’s not the end of the line – these days, the jobs most likely to pay a living wage and benefits are those that require a college degree – but it’s an essential first step.

Dropouts Need Fair Pay Too!

by Lara S. Kaufmann, Senior Counsel, 
National Women’s Law Center 

Many of you may have heard that at every level of education, females earn less than males with similar educational backgrounds. But did you know that the wage gap between men and women is the highest among high school dropouts? It’s true. Female high school dropouts earn only 63 percent of what male dropouts earn, which comes to about $9,100 less annually, on average. In fact, it is not until the average woman has some college education that she earns more than the average man without a high school diploma. Pay equity matters at all income levels, especially for the women who are struggling to make ends meet to support their families. That’s just one of the reasons it’s so important that the Senate passes the Paycheck Fairness Act. For more information about low earnings and the other economic consequences faced by female high school dropouts, see NWLC’s report, When Girls Don’t Graduate, We All Fail: A Call to Improve High School Graduation Rates for Girls, as well as other materials here. 

See who else is writing about workplace fairness for women on this Equal Pay Day.

Sugar & Spice – We Can Do Better, Right?

by Fatima Goss Graves, Senior Counsel
and Lara S. Kaufmann, Senior Counsel
National Women’s Law Center  

This week NBC’s Today Show profiled a single sex school located in suburban St. Louis. The segment began with a video showing boys engaging in calisthenics and the girls sitting quietly at their desks reading and writing. Boys were permitted to learn anywhere in the classroom – under their desks, in tents, standing on chairs… no similar alternative learning opportunities were provided for girls.  And the reading materials for the two genders were quite different – boys read stories featuring monsters while girls read stories featuring movie stars. Yet when the school administrator was interviewed, she insisted that the school avoided stereotyping in the classroom – huh? 

While we appreciate that the show provided more than one perspective – Latifah Lyles, VP of NOW, definitely provided an important public service by explaining that single sex schools are not a silver bullet for our educational woes. But there was a significant gap in the coverage.  Not once did the show mention that many of the programs in question (even potentially the one profiled in the piece) may not be lawful. This is no small oversight. It is critical that school districts take this into account when taking the plunge into single sex programming. 

Here’s the thing – we’re not saying we oppose all single sex programs. To the contrary, as we’ve said in the past, there are single sex programs that don’t operate based on stereotypes about the abilities and needs of their students and that may meet the very rigorous standards of the Constitution and Title IX (not to mention the many state laws that apply). But it makes no sense to engage in a debate about the value of single sex schools without even mentioning whether they are permitted under the law.  We’re convinced that the media can do better next time.