INTRODUCTION:

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 is a comprehensive federal initiative that addresses sex discrimination in educational institutions. Title IX legislation states:

" No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

Title IX applies to public and private schools from kindergarten through professional school, and includes: admissions, recruitment, educational programs and activities, course offerings and access, counseling, financial aid, employment, facilities and housing, health and insurance benefits and services, marital and parental status, scholarships, athletics, and sexual harassment.

The Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education is responsible for enforcing Title IX. Each school system is responsible for implementing and enforcing Title IX. Noncompliance could result in a cutoff of all federal funds to a school district or institution.

CRITICAL ISSUES AND TRENDS:

Title IX is consistent with school district efforts to respond to each individual student's needs, interests, and ability levels.

Title IX supports and fosters tolerance and respect for all students, benefitting both males and females of all ethnic, cultural and language groups.

As a result of Title IX, the following gains have been identified:

• In 1994, 63% of female high school graduates ages 16-24 were enrolled in college, up 20 percentage points from 43% in 1963.

• In 1994, 27% of women earned a Bachelor's degree. In 1973, just 18% of women had completed four or more years of college.
  
• In 1994, women earned 38% of medical degrees. In 1973, only 9% of medical degrees were awarded to women.

• In 1993-94, 44% of all doctoral degrees awarded to U.S. citizens went to women, up from 25% in 1977.
  
• In 1995, women comprised 37% of college student athletes, compared to 15% in 1972.

                                                    (Source: Title IX: 25 Years of Progress, U.S. Department of Education, 1997.)

Despite these gains, there remains areas of critical concern:

• Women are less likely to earn a bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, physical science or mathematics (U.S. Department of Education, 1997).
  
• Young girls start out ahead of boys in math and science in elementary school but fall behind as they move through middle and high school (National Center for Education Statistics, 1996; National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, 1997).
  
• African American, Latino and American Indian girls have the lowest achievement of all students in math and science from fourth grade through high school (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 1996).
  
• Few schools enforce a sexual harassment policy. Schools without policies are less likely to take action against an alleged harasser: schools with policies took action in 84 percent of cases, whereas schools without policies did so only 52 percent of the time (National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, 1997).
  
• Women's college athletics programs receive on average 25 percent of the athletics budget (NCWGE, 1997).
  
• From elementary school through high school, boys receive lower report card grades. By middle school, they are far more likely to be grade repeaters and dropouts (Sadker and Sadker, 1994).
  
• The majority of students identified for special education programs are boys. The majority of these boys are African American and Latino students (National Urban League, 1998).
  
• In school, boys' misbehavior results in more frequent and harsher penalties. Boys comprise 71% of all school suspensions. Boys of color comprise of all expulsions and suspensions (Shaffer and Gordon, 2000).

Multiple forms of discrimination serve as barriers and affect academic performance, choices and career aspirations of both students and employees. While the implementation of Title IX has improved opportunities for both boys and girls, men and women, educational institutions must continue to maintain and promote equality of opportunity for all students and employees.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TITLE IX:

• Make sure students, colleagues and parents are informed about Title IX.
  
• Remind all stakeholders, including school governance, administration and staff of the school district that they are responsible for upholding Title IX.
  
• Ensure that your school district appoints a Title IX Coordinator, and everyone should be notified as to who that person is, including parents.
  
• Create and make known procedures that allow employees and students to file grievances.
  
• Ensure that a safe and inviting work and school environment exists for both employees and students.
  
• Learn how to incorporate equity principles into the schools through professional development, community outreach and student involvement actions.
  
• Ensure that all educational institutions adopt and enforce strong and comprehensive sexual harassment policies.

National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, Title IX at 25: Report Card on Gender Equity. Washington DC: National Women's Law Center, 1997.

U.S. Department of Education, Title IX: 25 Years of Progress. Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1997.

Sadker, M. and D. Sadker. Failing at Fairness: How America's Schools Cheat Girls.   New York: Charles Scribner and Sons, 1997.

Shaffer, S. and L. Gordon. Why Boys Don't Talk and Why We Care: A Mother's Guide to Connection. Chevy Chase, MD: Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium, 2000.

National Urban League. The State of Black America 1998. New York: National Urban League, 1998.

U.S. Department of Education. Digest of Education Statistics. Washington, DC: USDOE, 1997.

U.S. Department of Education. National Assessment of Educational Progress, The 1994 High School Study Tabulations. Washington, DC: USDOE, 1996.

An Annotated Summary of the Regulations for Title IX Educational Amendments of 1972 (1993)
Available in HTML or format (46k).

Beyond Title IX: Gender Equity in Schools (1993)
Available in HTML or format (88k).

It's Your Right! A Student Guide to Title IX (1994)
Available in HTML or format (507k)

Equity Alert: Sexual Harassment of Students (1993)

Why Boys Don't Talk and Why We Care: A Mother's Guide to Connection (2000)

            Pricing and Ordering Information

MID-ATLANTIC EQUITY CENTER POSTERS:

Who Says You Can't? -- Promotes equal job opportunities for men and women

Are You a Buddy? -- Designed for upper elementary students, this poster contrasts "bully" behavior versus "buddy" behavior.

101 Ways to Line Up Other Than by Gender

Rapunzel Did Live Happily Ever After... She Became a Barber  -- Encourages girls to explore nontraditional career paths.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LINKS

The following organizations have several good publications on Title IX and gender equity. Please visit their web sites for additional selections.

American Association of University Women. Growing Smart: What's Working for Girls in School. Washington DC: AAUW Foundation, 1995.  http://www.aauw.org

Human Rights and Community Relations Department of the American Federation of Teachers. Gender Equity: Implementing Title IX.  Washington, DC: American Federation of Teachers, 1999.  http://www.aft.org/humanrights/index.htm

National Women's Law Center. Breaking Down Barriers: A Legal Guide to Title IX. Washington DC: National Women's Law Center, 1994.  http://www.nwlc.org

U. S. Depatment of Education, Office for Civil Rights, "Sexual Harassment Guidance: Harassment of Students by School Employees, Others Students, or Third Parties," 62 Federal Register 12,034, March 13, 1997.  http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR

WEEA Equity Resource Center. Raising the Grade: A Title IX Curriculum. Newton, MA: Education Development Center, 1998.  http://www.edc.org/WomensEquity

*** This page was last updated 3/15/2000.                Comments?   E-mail us at equity@maec.org.