It's The LAW

Matrix: The Magazine for Leaders in Education, Oct, 2000 by Jennifer C. Patterson

TITLE IX

Title IX was enacted to ensure that no institution receiving federal monies can discriminate based on sex. Although its wording says nothing about specific institutional programs, court decisions have applied it to athletics, making it the concern of every college that offers a sports program.

Court decisions have also made Title IX affect nearly every college through definitions of federal monies. For the purposes of Title IX compliance, federal monies include any transfer of federal funds to a college, including accepting a student's Pell Grant dollars. Because of this broad interpretation of federal monies, it is a rare institution that is not bound by Title IX.

Susan Hofacre, head of the sports administration department at Robert Morris College in Philadelphia, Pa., explained that discrimination is defined by the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education. Typically, the OCR looks at three areas: "opportunities, scholarships, and everything else."

It is the "everything else" category that most find confusing. Covering such varied elements as access to coaches, public-relations activities, equipment, training facilities, and academic support, this grab-bag category allows the OCR to look at the athletic department as a whole and determine if men and women are treated equally.

Title IX has drawn the attention of the higher-education community after reports that some schools have dropped a men's sporting team in order to remain in compliance. But Hofacre said such responses almost always represent a financial choice that the university has made. "Eliminating men's sports was not the goal," she said, adding that some schools opt instead to raise additional funds to cover the expense of beefing up the women's program. "Schools have made a financial decision when they decide to cut a men's sport," she said.

Hofacre said Title IX has brought increased opportunities for female athletes, but that work remains to be done. The effects of this regulation will be with colleges for years to come. For example, the NCAA has mandated that schools develop and implement an equity plan that they will assess in their certification process. When inequities are found, the schools must demonstrate progress toward correcting them.

"The ideal state is not to need [Title IX], but that is not going to happen anytime soon," Hofacre said. Instead, she sees a continuing need for Title IX in the pursuit of increased opportunities for all student athletes.

PENDING REGULATIONS

Affirmative action, the ADA, and Title IX are three major issues that affect all colleges and universities, but there are countless others that affect schools in specific states, enrollment categories, and program focus. And, the national and state legislatures consider adopting more regulations each year.

For example, a bill under consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives would require colleges to identify students and employees who are registered sex offenders. Introduced by Arizona Rep. Matt Salmon, the bill has already engendered heated debate about its potential impact on the higher-education community.