WASHINGTON – Tuesday, June 23, marks the 37th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation that has been opening doors for women and girls since it was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972. AAUW was instrumental in the passage of Title IX, the federal statute prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities.
"Title IX is one of the most important civil rights laws since the law that gave women the right to vote. It has succeeded in providing access to educational opportunities formerly closed to women and girls," said AAUW Executive Director Linda D. Hallman, CAE. "In the more than three decades since the passage of Title IX, AAUW has been one of the leading voices advocating for its vigorous enforcement."
This week, AAUW hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill, along with the Women's Sports Foundation and the National Women’s Law Center, to discuss the need for legislation to require high schools to report gender equity data. AAUW supports the High School Sports Information Collection Act (S. 471) and the High School Athletics Accountability Act (H.R. 2882), which would help communities better enforce Title IX by making public the expenditures for high school athletic programs and the participation rates of female and male students.
"While great strides have been made, Title IX’s work is not done, especially at the high school level, where girls face continued discrimination in scheduling, equipment, facilities, and overall participation opportunities," said Lisa Maatz, AAUW director of public policy and government relations. "Because the benefits of girls’ sports are undeniable — better grades, fewer teen pregnancies, less involvement with drugs — it’s critical that we ensure a fair playing field."
Title IX can also play a vital role in increasing gender equity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education by improving the climate for women in those fields. By 2010, one in four new jobs will be technically oriented or will involve computers. However, women still lag far behind in earning computer technology degrees and working in computer technology-related professions.
Additional AAUW Title IX priorities include:
- Requiring agencies to conduct broad and proactive Title IX compliance reviews: All agencies are required to ensure that they are not violating Title IX; however, very few Title IX reviews are conducted outside the Department of Education — and those that are conducted are often cursory at best. Federal agencies such as NASA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense should conduct Title IX compliance reviews at grantee institutions. The new administration should make it a government-wide priority that agencies use their contracting and grant-making authority to ensure that universities that receive agency funding are complying with Title IX.
- Rescinding the 2005 "Additional Clarification of Intercollegiate Athletics Policy: Three-Part Test — Part Three": AAUW is concerned that the clarification is a dramatic departure from previous Title IX compliance standards. The 2005 clarification lowers the bar for schools, making it easier to prove compliance by using a less rigorous and less thorough e-mail-based survey method. As a result, it jeopardizes the number of athletic opportunities that will be available to women on campus. AAUW supports the governing Title IX enforcement standards detailed in the 1996 Policy Clarification, which require schools to consider multiple factors under prong three of the Title IX three-part test.
- Rescinding the 2006 single-sex regulations: In 2006, single-sex regulations were issued that allow for the exclusion of students from classes based on gender. AAUW does not oppose the idea of single-sex education, so long as it is appropriate, necessary, is initiated in response to demonstrated need, and is done in a manner consistent with constitutional requirements and existing antidiscrimination laws. Unfortunately, the 2006 regulations are not nearly rigorous enough to ensure adequate civil rights protections and do not put safeguards in place to limit the problematic stereotypes that have historically limited girls’ opportunities. AAUW urges the Department of Education to rescind the 2006 single-sex regulations and return to the previous standard.
