Title IX’s impact far-reaching

Title IX

Title IX: 40 Years of Change

Title IX transformed America's sports culture with just 37 words that required equal access, regardless of gender, to educational programs receiving federal money. Those words have affected countless sports programs and athletes in the 40 years since President Nixon gave them his signature. Today, interpreting and enforcing the law remains as contentious as it was in the beginning. Authored by Maureen Hayden, CNHI's state reporter in Indiana, this series covers the celebration and culture wars over Title IX.

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June 22, 2012

Title IX’s impact far-reaching

By Maureen Hayden CNHI News Service The Mineral Wells Index Fri Jun 22, 2012, 05:24 PM CDT

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 had a seismic impact on sports in the United States, but the law itself is only 37 words long: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

The law applies to educational institutions that receive federal funds, including private schools if they accept any federal dollars from student loan, grant or research programs. The courts have repeatedly interpreted the "educational program or activity" section of the law to cover both academics and athletics.

Title IX was written to open opportunities for women in higher education, but it also applies to elementary, middle and high schools that receive public dollars.

The penalty for non-compliance is withdrawal of federal funds, but that's a penalty that has yet to be used. Instead, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, the agency in charge of investigating Title IX complaints and enforcing the law, works with schools to remedy complaints.

Title IX covers three general areas in athletic programs: The opportunity to participate in sports; the opportunity to access athletic scholarships, and the opportunity to access a host of other resources such as locker rooms, training facilities and prime times for game and practice schedules.

The law doesn't require schools to create mirror images of sports programs for males and females. Title IX compliance is assessed through a broader view of the total athletic program opportunities offered to male and female athletes.

For example, schools that fail to offer an equal number of athletic participation opportunities to men and women may still be in compliance with the law if they can demonstrate that they've consistently expanded those opportunities over time. The courts have ruled that "boys are more interested in sports than girls" cannot be used as a defense for failing to offer equal access to participation.

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Title IX

Title IX’s impact far-reaching
The 37-word law doesn't require women's sports programs to mirror the men's program. Instead, those who enforce Title IX look broadly to see if opportunities for women are equal to those for men.

June 22, 2012 1 Story
Law banning sex bias struck a national sports nerve
Passing Title IX was a matter of basic fairness for U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh, who championed the law 40 years ago that gave women equal access to educational programs and athletics. As simple as that might have been, the law only passed with what he called a "knock-down, drag-out fight."

June 22, 2012 1 Photo 1 Story
The next hurdle: Women coaching men's teams
Title IX changed high school and college sports, but even now few women stand on the sidelines to coach men's teams. Annemarie Farrell, who revived men's rugby at Ithaca College, is an exception. She is one of many women who owe their careers, at least in part, to the law. Others include Lin Dunn, coach of the WNBA's Indiana Fever; Fever forward Tamika Catchings; and Kelly Krasukopf, the Fever's general manager.

June 22, 2012 2 Photos 3 Stories
Like father, like daughter on basketball court
Title IX is important to Tamika Catchings but not nearly as important as the influence of her father, Harvey, who played 11 seasons in the NBA, and her mother, who ran track and played tennis. A seven-time WNBA all-star and league MVP in 2011, Catchings talks about sports, equity and growing up with a dream to play in the all-male National Basketball Association.

June 22, 2012 1 Photo 3 Stories
Time hasn’t ended legal furor over Title IX
Title IX supporters are often the biggest critics of its enforcement. Many say the law might as well not exist unless someone is willing to file a court challenge. Contentiousness associated with the advent of Title IX - such as the University of Michigan's battle against it - lingers in many places today.

June 22, 2012 2 Photos 5 Stories
Faces of Title IX: Women share their stories
An Olympic-level diver, a high school valedictorian looking for big-city adventure, a softball player who refused to quit and a basketball star who learned the game by playing against her brothers' friends. All were pioneers in women's college sports when Title IX equalized access to academics and athletics.

June 22, 2012 4 Photos 5 Stories
Charts: Growth of sports participation by women, girls
These graphics illustrate how girls' participation in sports has grown at the high school and college level since the passage of Title IX in 1972.

June 22, 2012 1 Photo
Girls rebuild school wrestling programs
Title IX and gender equity usually get blamed for shrinking men's wrestling programs, but these days women's interest and participation is bringing people back to the sport.

June 22, 2012 2 Photos 5 Stories

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