Title IX for Secondary Students

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Title IX for Secondary Students
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So, youve heard of

• Title IX?

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What do we already know?
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Our responses
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How did we do?
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Given what we know about Title IX, how do you
think our school would medal?

• Medals Gold, Silver, Bronze, Plasticor a
  Button.
• Gold Medal Were all over it. Our boys and
  girls sports programs are equal, and theres no
  gender inequity in our school.
• Silver Medal We have a pretty good sports
  program that treats boys and girls the same. We
  might have some issues going on, but nobody is
  bothered.
• Bronze Medal We guess were doing OK.
• Plastic Medal We never thought about it.
• A Button We dont care about sports, gender or
  fairness.

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As a result of this lesson, you will be able to

• Understand the basic rudiments of the law,
  including when, who, what, where, why and how
• Describe and analyze your own schools
  participation opportunities by gender
• Define some elements of equitable treatment at
  your school
• Consider strategies that could move your school
  to compliance
• Review/save/distribute the Womens Sports
  Foundation Title IX resources

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About the Law

• Title IX is the portion of the Education
  Amendments of 1972 that prohibits sex
  discrimination in educational institutions that
  receive any federal funds.
• In brief (only 37 words), Title IX states

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Title IX

• No person in the United States shall, on the
  basis of sex, be excluded from participation in,
  be denied the benefits of, or be subject to
  discrimination under any educational program or
  activity receiving federal financial assistance.

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Title IX Covers

• every aspect of federally funded education
  programs.
• Access to Higher Education
• Athletics
• Career Education
• Education for Pregnant and Parenting Students
• Employment
• Learning Environment
• Math and Science
• Sexual Harassment
• Standardized Testing
• Technology

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Avoid misperceptions

• Understand that Title IX is about raising the
  level of one program and NOT taking away from or
  tearing down another program (wrestling, as an
  example). It is NOT about who is better! Title IX
  does not force a school to drop or eliminate
  programs to meet compliance.
• Avoid an attitude that only values major sports
  (typically football and boys basketball) to the
  exclusion of all others.
• Remember that females seek and deserve the same
  benefits from athletics that males do. This means
  breaking down gender stereotypes.

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Title IX and Athletics

• 3 Conditions for Compliance
• A. Participation
• B. Athletic Financial Assistance
• C. Treatment of Students

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Game On!

• First Half
• Halftime
• Second Half
• Closing

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Question 1 A. Participation
Your school offers freshman, JV and varsity teams
for all boys sports, but only JV and varsity
teams for girls. Is this a violation of Title
IX?
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A. Participation

• Title IX requires that girls have the same number
  of chances to participate in sports as boys.

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A. Participation
Imagine This There was a boys golf team.
There was no team for girls.
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What Happened?
A very interested parent used our resources and
Steps To Gender Equity guide. The parent
made a formal request to the athletic director,
including a petition signed by 30 interested
girls.
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Success!
With the parent and student advocacy and the
athletic directors support, the plan worked! The
high school created a varsity golf team for girls
and hired a coach!
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Question 2 B. Athletic Financial
Assistance
A school spends a different amount of money on
sports for females and males. Is this a
violation of Title IX?
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B. Athletic Financial Assistance

• There is NO funding requirement, however
• When gender differences in money exist, it
  may result in problems with overall program
  fairness.

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Halftime!

• Has there been a time when you were not treated
  fairly, because you were a boy or girl?

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Second Half

• In the 37-plus years since the passage of Title
  IX, no one has really found a school in total
  compliance with the law.
• Yet, no school has ever lost federal funding for
  breaking the Title IX law.

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C. Treatment of Athletes

• The treatment and benefits the boys and girls
  receive must be comparable.
• Lets look at a few components of
  Treatment that are relevant to students

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C. Treatment of Athletes includes
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And typically, in higher education, add

• Scholarships
• Medical and Training Services
• Tutoring

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C. Treatment of Athletes

• Scheduling

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Scheduling
Imagine This A high school athletic
association scheduled six girls sports (but no
boys sports) in non-traditional seasons. This
was done, they said, to avoid sharing fields and
facilities. The consequence for the girls was
that playing out of season limited their
opportunities.
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What Happened?

• The Supreme Court refused to hear the case,
  accepting the lower courts decision, ensuring
  that schedules must benefit all students equally.

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Success!
Girls (and boys) play during the traditional
seasons across the country, giving everyone
access to high-level competitions, recruiting,
scouts and scholarships.
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C. Treatment of Athletes

• Equipment

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C. Treatment of Athletes

• Publicity

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C. Treatment of Athletes

• Travel and Daily Allowance

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Question 3 Coaching
The girls lacrosse coach and the boys lacrosse
coach have equal experience and duties. However,
the boys coach is paid more. Is this a
violation of Title IX?
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C. Treatment of Athletes

• Coaching
• Employment decisions, including those regarding
  coaches, are to be made in a non-discriminatory
  manner.

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Coaching
Imagine This A basketball coach was removed
for challenging the lack of support for his
girls team. The girls team practiced in a cold,
old gym, with sloped floors, made its own travel
arrangements and had its winning JV team
eliminated. The boys team practiced in the
new gym, had school-arranged travel and kept its
losing JV team.
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What Happened?
In a precedent-setting case, the coach sued the
district because Title IX prohibits retaliation
against a coach who advocates for gender
equality.
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Success!
In the courts, the coach was reinstated and
received 50,000. Also, the AD and school system
remain obligated to follow up with steps toward
compliance and Title IX training.
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Question 4 Facilities
Thanks to fundraising by the Baseball Booster
Club, the boys baseball field has concrete
dugouts, large bleachers, an enclosed fence with
warning pads, three batting cages and an
electronic scoreboard. Also the field has new sod
and a sprinkler system. The softball field does
not have a sprinkler system, scoreboard, outfield
fence, batting cages or press box. The dugout is
old, and the paint is chipping. Is this a
violation of Title IX?
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C. Treatment of Athletes

• Facilities
• Under Title IX, both baseball and softball
  programs are entitled to comparable facilities.

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3. Facilities
Imagine This The boys baseball field had
lights, thanks to a group of volunteer
fundraisers. Without lights, many girls
softball games were canceled.
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What Happened?

• Volunteers wanted lights for the girls field.
  Initially, the district refused.
• Volunteers used Womens Sports Foundation
  resources and pressured the school board.

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Success!
With the ADs support, the school board agreed
to offset the added cost, without using booster
club funds, and provided new lights for the
softball team! The AD now manages a school-wide
booster club, providing fund-raising activities
that promote all school sports fairly.
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C. Treatment of Athletes

• Support Services Booster Clubs

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Given your knowledge and understanding of Title
IX and your school, what medal do you now think
best represents the schools compliance?

• Medals Gold, Silver, Bronze, Plasticor a
  Button.
• Gold Medal Were totally fair
• Silver Medal We have some issues
• Bronze Medal We think were doing OK
• Plastic Medal We just thought about it...
• A Button We dont care...

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V is for Victory. So is IX.Visit
www.Vis4Victory.org

• IX. Get 9 colleagues to Grade Your School.
• 8. Call our hotline [phone] with
• questions.
• 7. Using only 7 sentences, e-mail us your Title
  IX stories.
• 6. E-mail 6 photos, showing fair (or unfair!)
  practices at your school.
• 5. Give 5 Title IX Media Helpers to friends and
  colleagues.
• 4. Share our video with 4 good sportspeople who
  have helped you generate Title IX compliance.
• 3. Over 3 days, Grade Your Newspaper, following
  the guidelines on our site.
• 2. Contact 2 of your elected officials and ask
  them to speak up for girls sports.
• 1. Youve already won (1!) when you support
  women and girls in sports and physical activity.

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Ready, Set, Go!

• Womens Sports Foundation
• 800.227.3988
• Advocacy_at_WomensSportsFoundation.org