Womenstake

The Same Conversation, Thirty Eight Years Later—Happy Birthday, Title IX

by Neena Chaudhry, Senior Counsel
National Women’s Law Center

I have spent a good chunk of time this week talking about a Title IX trial against Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. The issue is that the school cut its women’s volleyball team to save money and claims that it can nevertheless satisfy Title IX by elevating its cheerleading squad to a varsity sport. There’s also that pesky little issue about the school admittedly manipulating its athletic rosters to under report the number of men and inflate the number of women actually playing. At bottom, however, the Quinnipiac case is about whether a school is providing its female students with truly equal athletic opportunities or is simply cost cutting on the backs of women. 

Today is the 38th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark civil rights law passed in 1972 that has literally revolutionized our world. Because of Title IX, I am sitting where I am, writing what I am. Women are now allowed to go to college and graduate schools, they are allowed to run the full length of a basketball court, they can go to the moon, and much more. Yet, despite the many doors that this remarkable law has opened, we are still having many of the same conversations that we did almost 40 years ago, especially in the realm of athletics. 

Admittedly, I'm not the most patient person, and I feel like the child in the back of the car who keeps asking "Are we there yet?" Sadly, the answer is "no," which is why we must keep fighting until we are. 

Study Claims that Title IX Has Hurt Men’s Soccer . . . Really?

by Neena Chaudhry, Senior Counsel
National Women’s Law Center

The College Sports Council (CSC) released a study last week claiming that Title IX has hurt men’s soccer.  Sadly, the study is just another version of the same old attacks that the CSC and similar groups have launched against Title IX in the courts and in the media for many years—attacks that have been unanimously rejected. 

In their latest study, the CSC compares the participation numbers and scholarship limits for males and females in Division I and erroneously claims that the somewhat smaller number of men playing soccer in Division I is the result of a "gender quota." If you’re confused, you’re not alone. There are many pieces of the puzzle that the CSC study conveniently omits. 

The Real Issue with Flag Football for Females in Florida

by Neena Chaudhry, Senior Counsel
National Women’s Law Center

Cross-posted from ACS Blog

The New York Times' recently featured an article about the rise of flag football as a varsity sport among girls in Florida. I was quoted in the article as questioning whether the sport provides girls with equal educational opportunities when compared to boys' sports. Unfortunately, some have characterized such comments as unsupportive of girls who are playing the sport. While I understand the appeal of such a critique (after all, controversy sells), nothing could be farther from the truth, or the point. Flag football is an exciting sport (I was an avid football fan in high school so I understand the appeal), and I think girls should be able to play whatever they want.

My questions are directed towards the educational institutions who decide what sports to offer -- namely, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) and its member schools. The real focus should be on whether their decisions provide equal educational opportunities to male and female students, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. (While athletic associations may claim that they are not subject to the civil rights laws, several courts have held otherwise and noted that these associations, not their individual member schools, have the power to set up state championships, decide the seasons for sports, and much more.)

Read the full post.

Women and Girls are Back in the Game: Department of Education Reverses Damaging 2005 Policy

by Neena Chaudhry, Senior Counsel
National Women’s Law Center

Many of us here had the privilege of attending an inspiring event yesterday at George Washington University, where hundreds gathered to celebrate the release of a new Title IX guidance that reversed a harmful policy issued in 2005 and provided further details about how schools can comply with the law. The 2005 policy weakened the law by permitting schools to claim that they were complying with Title IX based exclusively on the results of an email survey asking female students about their interests in additional sports opportunities. Even worse, schools were given the green light to interpret any lack of response to a survey as lack of interest in sports. 

Vice President Biden, Valerie Jarrett (Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls), and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and his staff joined Olympic and professional athletes, local teams, students, parents and advocates to talk about the importance of Title IX and what it means for our nation’s daughters. As the Vice President said, “Making Title IX as strong as possible is a no-brainer.” And he dubbed yesterday Equal Play Day, noting that it was also Equal Pay Day (check out our blog for posts about fair pay).

The speakers recognized how empowering sports are for women and girls and how participating in sports leads to greater academic and employment success, better health outcomes, and countless other benefits. 

Our Comments to the Task Force on Childhood Obesity

by Neena Chaudhry, Senior Counsel
National Women’s Law Center

Last week, the Center submitted two sets of comments to the Task Force on Childhood Obesity, which was recently established by President Obama.

The Task Force asked for public input to assist it in making recommendations on public and private sector steps that can be taken to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity. As the President noted, nearly one-third of our nation’s children are overweight or obese, and one in three people born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes during their lifetime, among other chronic health problems. He set a goal of solving the problem of childhood obesity within a generation, and the First Lady has launched an accompanying public awareness campaign. They are going to need all the help they can get in order to reach this lofty goal, so we decided to weigh in.

The education and employment group (of which I am proud to be a part) submitted comments focusing on the role that athletics plays in obesity reduction among young women, and the need for greater enforcement of Title IX to ensure that women and girls receive equal opportunities to benefit from sports. You can read more about what we said here.

In addition, Helen Blank, our Director of Leadership and Public Policy, submitted comments highlighting the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and how it can be improved to increase access to nutritious food for young children. You can read more about what Helen said here.

Title IX’s Lasting Effects

by Neena Chaudhry, Senior Counsel,
National Women’s Law Center 

As we watch the Olympics, we can’t help but marvel at the athletic abilities of the world’s athletes. But for most young men and women, participating in sports will not lead to an Olympic medal. It will, however, lead to other great and long-lasting effects in the form of greater educational, work and health outcomes. Those are the findings of two separate studies by economists that are profiled in the New York Times.

According to the article, the studies confirm that the benefits of sports that many of us have long touted—better grades, higher self-esteem, and lower teenage pregnancy rates—are a direct result of participating in sports. More specifically, one of the studies isolates the variable of sports participation from other factors such as school size and social and personal factors and demonstrates that Title IX, which led to a tremendous increase in girls’ sports participation, has had a direct effect on women’s education and employment. Another study shows that the increase in girls’ sports participation caused by Title IX was associated with a 7 percent lower risk of obesity 20 to 25 years later for girls who were in high school in the 1970s. 

This National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Urge Schools to Support Their Female Athletes

by Neena Chaudhry, Senior Counsel,
National Women’s Law Center 

On February 3, 2010, join NWLC in celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day. On this day every year, advocates, students, and parents across the country show their support for women and girls in sports by hosting and participating in community events. NWLC will mobilize supporters to contact Congress in support of federal high school athletics data bills.

These bills would require high schools to publicly disclose gender equity information about their athletics programs. Currently, a federal law requires colleges to make such information publicly available each year, but high schools are not required to disclose these data, making it difficult to ensure fairness in high school athletics programs.

Recently, the D.C. Council passed a bill modeled after the federal high school athletics data bills. The Title IX Athletic Compliance Act of 2009 would require investigations into the athletics programs at all D.C. public schools, including the collection of data on the number of male and female participants in athletics as well as expenditures by team. The bill has been referred to Congress – if ultimately enacted, the law would also require the establishment of a five-year plan to bring schools into compliance with Title IX athletics regulations and policies.

Stay tuned for what happens in D.C. and at the federal level regarding this issue. To take action in support of the federal high school athletics data bills, check out our website. For more information about planning a community event for National Girls and Women in Sports Day, check out these coalition resources.

Katie Reyes: Breaking Down Barriers One Game at a Time

by Neena Chaudhry, Senior Counsel,
National Women’s Law Center 

Yesterday, a quiet thirteen-year-old girl made history just doing something she loves – playing baseball. Katie Reyes may or may not have known that her actions made history, although she certainly does by now. According to news reports, she became the first girl to have a game-winning hit in the Little League World Series. Major kudos to Katie!  

Given that she is only thirteen and grew up in the post-Title IX era, Katie might not realize what a major milestone her accomplishments represent in the history of women’s sports. Before Title IX, and even after, girls and women were not allowed to participate in many sports or were forced to play by different rules because of various stereotypes, including the notion that sports were too tough for females’ delicate bodies. Title IX has certainly changed the legal landscape when it comes to women and girls in sports, but many barriers still remain. Girls and women still receive only a little over 40% of the participation opportunities at the high school and college levels, and cases of unequal treatment of their teams abound.  Minority girls and those living in urban areas face the additional challenges of schools with few resources and cultural barriers such as parents not wanting their daughters to play sports because of safety concerns or because they are needed for household duties like child care and cleaning.

Katie is a shining example of what can happen when young women are given opportunities to play. But we must keep striving to ensure that equal athletic opportunities are a reality for all of our daughters.

Senator Kennedy: A Champion for Education

by Neena Chaudhry, Senior Counsel, 
and Dina Lassow, Senior Counsel, 
National Women’s Law Center 

Along with others across the world, we mourn the passing of a legend today.  Senator Kennedy championed many causes, including the right to equal educational opportunities for all, regardless of race, sex, family income, language barriers, or disability.  One of his causes that is particularly near and dear to our hearts is Title IX. 

In addition to being a key supporter for passage of Title IX, Senator Kennedy led the fight to ensure that the reach of the law was as broad as originally intended.  In 1984, the Supreme Court ruled in Grove City College v. Bell that Title IX’s protection against discrimination was limited to the specific programs within a school that received federal funds.  This decision had devastating consequences because it meant that athletics programs, for example, would not be covered unless they received federal funds, which they typically did not.  It also meant that students were only protected against sexual harassment if the harassment took place in a dormitory or classroom that happened to have been built with federal aid – not one across the street.  Senator Kennedy came to the rescue and was the leading author of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988, which overturned the Supreme Court’s Grove City decision and required recipients of federal funds to comply with civil rights laws in all areas, not just in a particular program or activity that receives federal funding.

Title IX and Gender Equity in Athletics: No More Excuses

by Neena Chaudhry, Senior Counsel
National Women’s Law Center

The Washington Post’s story yesterday about the disparities between the girls’ softball field and boys’ baseball field at Hylton High School in Woodbridge, Virginia is unfortunately all too familiar. Girls continue to receive second-class treatment in school sports programs across the country despite the fact that Title IX has mandated equality now for 37 years. As if that fact isn’t disturbing enough, many of the schools that are caught out of compliance pass the buck and try to justify amenities that boys have and girls do not by pointing out that they are donated to boys’ teams by outside supporters or booster clubs. But the law says that the buck stops with the schools.

Title IX requires schools to treat their male and female athletes equally with respect to equipment, facilities, publicity, and more. (See our handy checklist to learn all about Title IX’s requirements in athletics.) The fact that an outside entity’s generosity funds improvements for boys’ teams at a school—as was the case with the Hylton High baseball team’s press box and concession stand—does not excuse inferior treatment for the girls’ teams. As the Post article correctly notes, the bottom line is about the available benefits, not where they came from. That does not mean that schools have to turn down donations; no one wants that. But it does mean that schools need to think about how to provide similar benefits to girls (see our fact sheet for examples and ideas).

Some may contend that this is unfair, but stop to think about it for a moment: Would we allow an outside donor to fund new computers for boys and not girls? If we truly believe that athletic opportunities are educational ones, then the answer is clear.