“Our daughter is in 8th grade at a private school in Oakland, CA. She plays baseball on her middle school team and in the Oakland Little League, where she has played for about the last 8 years. She would like to continue playing baseball in high school rather than switch to softball, which we consider a different sport. Evidently, there is also legal precedent in other states. She has recently been told by the athletic... [Read More]
“I am the coach of a girls team at a high school in Michigan. Our girls locker room is inadequate compared with the boys. In addition the girls get kicked out of their locker room when visiting boys football and basketball teams are at the school. The boys are never removed from their locker room to accomodate visiting girls teams. These teams are directed to bathrooms to change in. Is this a violation of title... [Read More]
“Recently, our local high school merged the boys and girls soccer teams into 1 coed team. High School soccer requires 11 players on the field. Both the boys and girls teams had plenty players: over 20 boys and 14 girls, but the school principle decided that there needed to be 15 this year. When the teams combined, some of the girls quit, leaving them with 9 girls on the coed team. In our first game of the year,... [Read More]
The first step would be to alert your school that it is in violation – many schools do not know the law and what Title IX requires of them. Your school may be willing to make voluntary changes. Each school is required by law to have a Title IX coordinator. Find out who that person is and tell her about the Title IX problem. If your school is a high school or junior high school, you should notify the principal and the... [Read More]
No. Title IX is an educational law which applies only to schools that receive federal funding. However, California Government Code § 53080 prohibits gender discrimination in community youth athletic programs and parks and recreation facilities. Like Title IX, this law requires community recreational departments to provide boys’ programs and girls’ programs the same level of services, facilities, and supplies.
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Definitely not. Title IX does not require schools to cut boys’ teams to comply with its requirement that schools provide girls with opportunities to play sports in proportion to their enrollment in the school. Individual schools may choose to cut boys’ teams, rather than add more girls’ teams, as a means to comply with Title IX. However, this is the decision of individual schools rather than a mandate of Title IX.
A... [Read More]
If it is true that your school receives no federal funding, Title IX does not apply to your school. Be aware that almost all private colleges receive federal funding through financial aid programs. Private high schools or junior high schools may receive some benefit from federal tax dollars (e.g., federal lunch programs), which could subject them to Title IX.
Even if your school truly receives no federal funding, there... [Read More]
If your school provides boys with a greater number of slots on athletic teams than their proportion of the school population, then refusing to add another girls’ team is most likely a violation of Title IX. Lack of funding is never a valid justification for discrimination under Title IX. If there is a club team that has enough members to field a varsity team, has teams at other schools in the region to play, and has... [Read More]
No. The Supreme Court has ruled that it is illegal for a school district to retaliate against any person for complaining about sex discrimination in violation of Title IX.
Coaches and teachers are often the best advocates for the rights of their students because they frequently are in the best position to identify discrimination and bring it to the attention of administrators.
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Ask a Lawyer is designed to help students, coaches, parents and educators understand girls’ rights under Title IX to equal athletic opportunities and benefits in high school athletic programs. Ask a Lawyer is intended to provide general information and is not intended, nor should it be relied upon, as legal advice. If you are interested in getting help with a particular legal problem involving Title IX and girls’... [Read More]
