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National News
Harvard study reports girls lag behind boys in participation
BOSTON — A report issued on Feb. 3, 2004, from a combined effort by the Harvard School of Public Health and the National Women's Law Center in Washington found that girls sports participation in Massachusetts consistently ranks lower than that of boys. The study looks at discrimination of girls based on complaints filed with the Department of Education and through interviews, and calls for stronger enforcement of state access laws. See full report.
Title IX commission releases
final report, findings
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In February of 2003 Secretary of Education Rod Paige's commission, which was formed in 2002 to examine Title IX's effects on college athletes, filed its report to the public. In it were 23 recommendations, 15 characterized as being approved unanimously. Some called for the strong, consistent enforcement of the law, while others had the ability to change the original law. Two members of the commission, Donna de Varona and Julie Foudy also released a minority report in which they express concerns about some of the material contained in the original report
U.S. EEOC - Guidance on Application
of Anti-Discrimination Laws to Coaches’ Pay at Educational Institutions
(Oct. 31, 1997)
The EEOC released Enforcement Guidance on Sex Discrimination
in the Compensation of Sports Coaches in Educational Institutions
which
clarifies how the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 apply to sex-based differences in the compensation
of sports coaches. Both laws require that an employer pay similar
salaries to employees who perform similar jobs. Studies show that
barely two percent of the coaches of men’s teams are women and that
men’s coaches substantially out-earn women’s coaches in both salaries
and benefits. The policy is designed to assist both educational
institutions and coaches in better understanding their rights and
responsibilities
under the laws. For more information, see the text
of the policy.
Title IX hearings
- Senate
Oct. 18, 1995: The Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science, & Transportation
held open hearings on a variety of issues related to amateur sports, including
Title IX. See Cantu's testimony.
-
House
May 9, 1995: The House Subcommittee
on Postsecondary Education, Training, and Lifelong Learning hosted
an oversight hearing
on the Office for Civil
Rights and Title IX. According to the subcommittee chair, Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon,
(R-Calif.) if Title IX policy guidance provided by the OCR is not
sufficient to satisfy concerns expressed by the committee, another
Title
IX hearing
may be scheduled after the first of the year.
Congressmen make request and petition OCR
Rep. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon, (R-Calif.),
and Rep. Steve Gunderson, (R-Wis.),
asked Norma Cantu of the OCR to specify
how colleges can comply with Title IX in their
sports programs.
Ms. Cantu received a June 30, 1995 letter written by Rep. J. Dennis
Hastert (R-Ill.) signed by 146 House members
criticizing the OCR's current Title IX stance. Ms. Cantu received a July
21, 1995 letter, circulated by Rep. Patsy
Mink (D-Hawaii), with 94 House members' signatures
encouraging the Education Department to uphold its current interpretation
which has been well settled
in the courts. In the senate, Senators Ted Stevens
(R-Alaska) and Bill Bradley (D-N.J.) sent a letter signed by 16 other
senators to Secretary of Education
Richard Riley supporting Title IX with no changes.
On September, 20, 1995, Norma Cantu released the OCR's
Title IX policy clarification, subject
to a 30-day review period. Ms. Cantu testified before
the Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Foreign
Commerce, and Tourism on October 18, 1995.
Also testifying on behalf of Title IX and women's
issues were Donna Lopiano, Executive Director
of the Women's Sports Foundation, and Peg Bradley-Doppes
of the University of Michigan. On January 16, 1996,
Norma Cantu released the
OCR's official clarifications as the "Clarification of
Intercollegiate Athletics Policy Guidance: The Three-Part
Test" with very few substantive
changes. According to the Education
Daily, the agency received
201 responses
during the
30-day review with
a 6-to-1 margin in favor of the proposed
guidelines.
-
Executive Branch
June 17, 1997: In a White
House ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of
Title IX, President Clinton ordered increased enforcement
efforts of the
legislation. He sent an executive memorandum to all relevant
federal
departments ordering a review of their programs over a two-month
period. The Attorney
General’s recommendations to the President based on those
reports is expected to lead the President to sign an executive
order extending
the principles
of Title IX to all federal programs.
Department of Education: Gender Equity Regulations
The Department of Education published the final
regulations associated with the Equity in Athletics Disclosure
Act,
which requires all coeducational institutions receiving federal aid
to make public the revenues and expenditures of their sports programs,
as well as other pertinent
data on personnel, scholarships, and teams. Any member of the public
can request a copy of an institution's report through the 1997-98 reporting
period, and an
institution should respond within
a few days of the request. An institution may not restrict access
to the EADA report. The Higher Education Amendments
of 1998 have been signed into law by Congress to change this process in the
future.
A copy of the final regulations from the Federal
Register can be downloaded now as a PDF file. This file includes
sample forms to be used for compliance. Download
now.
History
Oct. 20, 1994: Regulations signed into law by President Clinton.
April 4, 1995: NCAA filed comments in response to Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking.
Nov. 29, 1995: The Department of Education released the final
regulations, as published in the Federal Register.
Oct. 1, 1996: Public disclosure required for 1995-96 academic
year.
Oct. 15, 1997: Public disclosure required for 1996-97 academic
year.
Note: The gender-reporting information required is similar to that
which is already included in the audit section of the Higher Education Act
(HEA) (P.L. 102-325, 34 CFR, part 668.14). The NCAA is considering the development
of materials combining the two reporting requirements for its membership.
OCR enforcement policy
The OCR held meetings with interested parties
throughout 1994 in order to determine if a need existed to revise
its Title IX intercollegiate athletics investigator's
manual. Clarifications were issued
September 20, 1995.
On January 16, 1996, Norma Cantu released the OCR's official clarifications
as the "Clarification of Intercollegiate Athletics Policy Guidance: The Three-Part
Test" with very few substantive changes. According to the Education Daily,
the agency received 201 responses during the 30-day review with a 6-to-1 margin
in favor of the proposed guidelines.
Supreme Court
An upcoming Supreme Court case may have a major
impact on NCAA support for women's athletics. On Jan. 20, 1999,
the court will be presented with the argument
on whether or not the NCAA is bound by Title IX of the Education Amendments
of 1972 and by other federal civil-rights laws and
regulations. This argument arose through a lawsuit filed back in August
of 1996, when Renee M. Smith filed suit in a U.S. district court in
Pennsylvania against the NCAA.
Ms. Smith's case began when the NCAA denied her request to play volleyball
as a graduate student at Hofstra University and the University of Pittsburgh. Previously,
Ms. Smith had played volleyball as an undergraduate at St. Bonaventure University
from 1991 to 1993, but the NCAA has a rule that does not allow graduate students
to compete in a varsity sport at an institution other than those they attended
as an undergraduate. Ms. Smith then sued under Title IX because of the
fact that more men had received a waiver to play as a graduate student at another
university than women. The court dismissed her complaint. Upon
the dismissal of the case, Ms. Smith appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit. In her appeal, she amended her case by including
a specific argument about federal financing. In a March ruling, the Court
of Appeals ruled in favor of Ms. Smith and reinstated the case based on the
added amendment.
The upcoming Supreme Court's ruling could very well have an enormous
impact on college sports. If the Court rules that the NCAA must abide
by Title IX, the NCAA could be required to spend an equal amount of money promoting
and staging women's athletics events as it spends on men's. This would
be a huge added expense for the NCAA and a major change in the status quo.
USA Today report on EADA
The USA Today requested and received the 1995-96 Equity in
Athletics Disclosure Act reports from all Division I coeducational institutions
and published its
findings in a series of March 1997 articles. The study found that 28 of the
schools (9%) had their total number of female student-athlete participants
within five
percentage points of women enrolled on campus, which is a Title
IX measure for "substantial proportionality." Using data extrapolated from the
EADA reports, the USA Today reported that "women get 38 percent of scholarship
money, 27 percent of recruiting money and 25 percent of operating
budgets" and "the number of women participating in college sports is up fourfold
since 1972 and 22 percent in Division I since 1992." Some reporting discrepancies,
such as accounting procedures for administrative and overhead
costs, were identified.
National Coalition for Athletics Equity
In 1998, the National Coalition for Athletics Equity (NCAE)
has received attention for organizing with the intention of fighting the Title
IX proportionality
standard. The group's main message is that the current application of the
law unfairly impacts boys and men participating in Olympic-type,
nonrevenue sports. The American Football Coaches Association has not joined
in the movement, but coaches' associations in baseball, wrestling, men's swimming,
and men's gymnastics have offered their support. A politically conservative
national women's organization, the Independent
Women's Forum, is also an ally. Patty Viverito, chair of the NCAA Committee
on Women's Athletics, says that she believes the group is basing its work on
the flawed premise that Title IX has diminished men's opportunities.
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