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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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