Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
04/20/2010
Contact:
Lisa Goodnight, goodnightl@aauw.org
202/785-7738
Contact:
Andrea Maruniak, amaruniak@nwlc.org
202/588-5180
National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education Supports Department of Education's New Title IX Athletics Guidance
WASHINGTON – The National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education applauds the U.S. Department of Education for issuing new Title IX guidance. Today's guidance rescinds the controversial 2005 Additional Clarification of Intercollegiate Athletics Policy: Three-Part Test — Part Three, which created a major loophole through which schools could evade their Title IX obligations. The 2005 clarification allowed schools to rely solely on responses—and non-responses— to e-mail surveys in order to prove that they were meeting female students' interests in athletics.
"The National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education is very supportive of the new guidance," said AAUW Executive Director Linda D. Hallman, CAE. "This guidance, along with AAUW's advocacy and programs such as Know the Score, which is designed to engage citizens in monitoring Title IX compliance, will continue to help strengthen Title IX."
"We applaud the Department of Education for putting the teeth back in Title IX," said Marcia D. Greenberger, co-president of the National Women's Law Center. "But there is much more work to be done. We call on the department to vigorously enforce Title IX to ensure that female students receive equal athletic opportunities at both the college and secondary school levels."
Girls thrive when they participate in sports. Statistics show that girls who play sports are less likely to get pregnant, drop out of school, do drugs, smoke, or develop mental illness. In addition, the benefits of playing sports stay with women for many years to come. For example, 80 percent of women identified as key leaders in Fortune 500 companies participated in sports while growing up, and a recent study found that women who played sports as children had a lower obesity rate even 20 to 25 years later in life. For these reasons and more, the coalition will continue to be one of the leading organizations advocating for Title IX.
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The American Association of University Women (AAUW) advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Since 1881, AAUW has been one of the nation’s leading voices promoting education and equity for women and girls. AAUW has a nationwide network of more than 100,000 members and donors, 1,000 branches, and 600 college/university institutional partners. Since AAUW's founding 130 years ago, members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day — educational, social, economic, and political. AAUW's commitment to educational equity is reflected in its public policy advocacy, community programs, leadership development, conventions and conferences, national partnerships, and international connections.
