Title IX -- 35 Years and Counting: A View of Educational Equity

By Peg Pennepacker, CAA

(Editor's note: The is part two of a two-part series. For part one, click here.)

Parents are getting smarter and this is not meant to be a derogatory or condescending statement toward them. Today's parents are more involved in their child's education than before and along with other stakeholders, they are requiring schools to be accountable for the decisions that are made throughout school governance. Through this process, the coming of the Internet has provided parents and others with the ability to access information with great ease. It is very easy for someone to "Google" the words "Title IX" and find more than three million Web sites and entries on the law. Furthermore, after educating oneself, it is relatively easy to go online and file a Title IX complaint or locate a Title IX attorney interested in hearing about your complaint.

When you combine parental scrutiny with the pursuit of educational equity (as mentioned in Part 1 of this article), it would behoove a school district to think proactively and perform a self-study of its athletic program for Title IX compliance. While performing a self-study is not difficult, it does require knowledge about the law and collaboration between the various school district personnel and stakeholders.

It is in the school's short- and long-term interests to know whether it is in compliance with the law and school aspirations.

A self-study at the minimum answers the institutional question of "How are we doing under Title IX and our own goal of gender equity"? Periodic self-studies are more meaningful than "one-shot" complaints driven by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which is the enforcement arm of Title IX investigations, because school compliance with Title IX is not static. Equal opportunities for both genders should be constantly monitored throughout the evolution of the entire athletic program.

Perhaps the most effective way to keep the OCR out of your school district is to have conducted a thorough self-study that has diagnosed the problem areas and sets forth a plan to address the deficiencies over a specified period of time. If the OCR is aware of the school's self-study and is convinced of the methodology's soundness, this may be sufficient in itself to deter an investigation.
If the OCR wants to conduct an investigation after receiving a formal complaint -- even knowing that the school has recently completed a self-study -- the study will be at least a point of departure for both parties to eliminate possible issues. If there is no self-study as a point of reference, an OCR investigation can be inordinately time-consuming and comprehensive in scope.

An undesirable result may occur as well because the OCR's timeframe for investigations is set by regulations and internal procedure. On the other hand, a self-study can take place over a longer period of time to suit personal schedules for interviews, etc., and to permit the institution to fashion more flexible creative resolutions for the disparities that may be uncovered.

The following points should be considered when developing a Title IX action plan as a school district begins its self-study process. These are adapted from "Twenty Tips for Developing a Title IX Action Plan" by Judith M. Sweet, who is the former director of athletics, University of California, San Diego, and a longtime senior administrator at the NCAA.

- Establish a district-wide committee to work with the athletic department in addressing gender equity. Include individuals or stakeholders with decision-making authority
or the ability to influence decisions-makers, whenever possible. Representatives might include coaches, student-
athletes, parents, school board members, school administrators, booster club representatives and school district Title IX coordinator.
- Invite OCR representatives or other Title IX consultants to visit the school and assist with the self-study and the development of strategies.
- Identify other community resources that may be of assistance.
- Inform and educate school district personnel, students, parents and community about Title IX law and regulations.
- Identify those individuals who will help champion the cause for equity.
- Attend seminars and conferences to develop better understanding of the law and its implementation.
- Work with state and national high school athletic associations to identify common solutions.
- Review the goals and priorities of your athletic department and how they are implemented.
- Identify ways of meeting goals. For example, implement a district-wide program to find ways to increase the interest level of girls participation in athletics.
- Develop a written action plan for both short- and long-term goals/proposals. In developing the action plan, include all components of Title IX evaluation requirements. Many of these can be addressed immediately.
- Develop change strategies to help foster an environment of acceptance and increased awareness that will aid in changing attitudes and stereotypes about girls participation in athletics.
- Be creative with all proposals.
- Keep all of your school district groups informed with semi-annual progress reports.
- Develop public relations strategies, especially if there are any major programmatic changes.
- Establish a timeline for implementing any changes.
- Develop a consensus based upon facts, logic and the spirit of fairness.
- Help people understand the consequences for the lack of compliance.
- Explain the changes to be made and help everyone feel comfortable with them.

Collaboration is the key to the self-study process. The first step to achieve true gender equity requires changing attitudes, and for that, some high school athletic directors will need help. It is not a one-person show. No athletic administrator can effect genuine change in the area of gender equity without complete support up and down a school's entire hierarchy. In high schools, this means building consensus, which includes school boards, principals, parents, teachers, coaches and students.

The process of schools performing a self-study of their athletic programs for Title IX compliance is not only important from a gender or educational equity standpoint, it may be soon required by law. The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) is a federal law passed in 1994 that requires universities and colleges to make available gender equity information about their athletic programs. A similar law may soon be a reality for high schools across the country.

On February 4, 2003, Senator Olympia Snowe brought legislation before the Senate titled the "High School Sports Information Collection Act of 2003," otherwise known as Senate Bill 282. The bill would require high schools to participate in reporting practices similar to those set forth by the EADA for colleges. This would in turn help set the standard for female athletic participation before they even get to college.

Similarly, in 2004, four members of Congress introduced the "High School Athletics Accountability Act (HR 4994)" which would require high schools to report the number of female and male athletes participating at their school, as well as the amount of expenditures spent by each school for each sport. Armed with this information, the Department of Education will be better equipped to assess equality in sports for females at the high school level and take action when disparities emerge.

Several states across the country already have in place either legislation requiring some type of Title IX reporting by their high schools or a requirement through their state athletic/activity associations for reporting. One of the more aggressive and proactive states when it comes to Title IX compliance of its high schools is Kentucky. Several years ago, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) took on the responsibility of overseeing Title IX compliance in all its member schools. The KHSAA created a compliance system and made a concerted effort not only to bring schools into compliance, but also to educate them on Title IX issues.

This proactive approach by the KHSAA is in part one of the hopeful outcomes of the proposed legislation by the House and the Senate. Likewise, some individual states are proposing legislation for their high schools. Recently, one of Pennsylvania's state senators introduced a bill requiring all Pennsylvania high schools to report Title IX information, which is again similar to the EADA at the college level.

Title IX compliance and enforcement at the high school level is critical. While much of the conversation about Title IX has been centered on the collegiate level, it is in large part what happens at the K-12 level that prepares or does not prepare young girls to want to be involved when they get to the collegiate level. Additionally, the courts have said that Title IX was enacted in order to remedy discrimination that results from stereotyped notions of females' interests and abilities. It could be argued that interests and abilities rarely develop in a vacuum, but rather evolve as a function of opportunity and experience. Females simply are not born less interested in sport; society conditions them.

Also, even if females have no interest in pursuing athletic participation in college, the benefits of sport participation at the junior high and high school levels have been well documented. Athletic participation helps cultivate the kind of positive, competitive spirit that develops self-confidence, dedication and a sense of team spirit, and makes for more successful and well-rounded individuals.

Participation in athletics at the high school level is not about creating the elite athlete or "super jock" persona. Athletics is an integral part of the educational process and an extremely useful tool in developing students on many levels. We cannot afford to limit opportunities and potential for some. In the truest sense, gender equity requires specific action to create conditions that provide quality educational opportunities and experiences for all student-athletes and enable achievement and career outcomes without regard to gender.

Peg Pennepacker, CAA, has been in public education for 25 years and a high school athletic director for 16 years. She is an advocate for Title IX at the high school level and serves as a Title IX consultant for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Directors Association, as well as several school districts in southeastern Pennsylvania. She can be contacted at 570-385-4069 or ppackt9@yahoo.com.