JUNE 23RD MARKS THE 35TH ANNIVERSARY OF TITLE IX BUT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST GIRLS AND WOMEN IN EDUCATION REMAINS WIDESPREAD.

Title IX’s impact on women’s athletic participation is one of the country’s greatest success stories. In the past three decades, Title IX has led to a 450% increase in the rate of female participation in college sports and a more than 900% increase in participation at the high school level.

Despite the significant gains girls and women have made since the enactment of Title IX, girls are still facing pervasive inequalities. In fact, while girls comprise 49% of the high school population, they receive only 41% of all athletic participation opportunities -- 1.3 million fewer participation opportunities than male high school athletes. Qualitative analysis suggests that high school girls still lag behind not only in participation opportunities, but in allocation of operating and recruitment budgets as well. But unlike their collegiate counterparts, high schools are not required to disclose any data on equity in sports-- making it difficult for schools, students and parents to identify sources of inequality and ensure fairness in their schools’ athletics programs.

On Wednesday, February 7, 2007, in honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced the High School Sports Information Collection Act. At the same time, Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-28th NY) and Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-2nd WV) introduced a companion bill, the High School Athletics Accountability Act, in the House. These important bills require high schools to report basic information on the number of female and male students in their athletic programs and the expenditures made for their sports teams. This information will help schools to evaluate whether and where in their athletics programs inequities are occurring, and will provide students and parents the information necessary to assist their schools in remedying disparities that may be limiting equal access to athletics opportunities.

Schools already keep much of this information, including their participation rates, which they report annually to the National Federal of State High School Associations. This new requirement will make this important information available to the public.

The National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education has asked Congress to cosponsor the High School Athletics Accountability Act and is encouraging the public to write letters to Congress urging them to work to make its passage a reality this year.