Support the enforcement of Title IX in schools
The major draw back of Title IX being enforced at the High School level is the complete lack of knowledge and information about the law or how schools are truly administering their athletic programs. The current legislation in the House and Senate gives teeth to Title IX at the High School level by requiring schools to publicly report their participation statistics and how they spend every dollar in athletics. Currently, High Schools collect this information, but they aren't required to publicly report it. This information, in the hands of the average parent or citizen, will make schools accountable to the families they serve. People would be able to tangibly see and identify discrepancies in spending and treatment of teams. This will in effect, create a regulatory effect that is not currently in place for High Schools. Colleges are under more close scrutiny because they are directly regulated by the NCAA and have to report their numbers publicly. Urge your congressman and senators to support the currently proposed legislation hold schools accountable. Follow this link to a site that will construct a letter and send it on your behalf to your representative and senators. It only takes a few quick minutes. Also forward this article and link to everyone you know who supports opportunities in athletics for women and girls.
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Basic Explanation of Title IX
It's pretty simple. Title IX was the law created (1972, Congress) to give women and girls equal opportunities in athletics at institutions (schools and universities) that recieve Federal Funds. This basically includes EVERY single public and private school in the country.
What Title IX says (paraphrasing) is that you must provide the same opportunities for the under represented gender (typically women) with the same quality of opportunity. In other words, sponsor the same amount of opportunities or women athletes as men and fund them, support them and take care of them with the same quality of resources expected for their sport. The law calls for an institution to prove this by meeting one of 3 tests.
(1, PROPORTIONALITY) Whether intercollegiate level participation opportunities for male and
female students are provided in numbers substantially proportionate to their
respective enrollments; or
(2, HISTORY) Where the members of one sex have been and are underrepresented
among intercollegiate athletes, whether the institution can show a history and
continuing practice of program expansion which is demonstrably responsive
to the developing interest[s] and abilities of the members of that sex; or
(3, SATISFACTION) Where the members of one sex are underrepresented among
intercollegiate athletes, and the institution cannot show a continuing practice
of program expansion such as that cited above, whether it can be
demonstrated that the interests and abilities of the members of that sex have
been fully and effectively accommodated by the present program.
*The key is that you treat these women's opportunities with the same resources, funding, academic and medical support as you do other sports and particularly the men's sports. Not just that you offer the athletic opportunity to the underrepresented sex, but that the quality of that opportunity must be the same as the quality of opportunities offer to other similar varsity sports of both sexes.
Title IX gets some negative publicity because many schools tried to come into compliance with the law by cutting men's sports rather than adding women's sports. While adding a new team is undoubtedly expensive, it was a reverse effect that gave the law a negative connotation to many athletes and supporters of less revenue generating men's sports such as wrestling or gymnastics. The fact is however, that since the law, more men's teams have been added to NCAA institutions than have been cut and women's opportunities in sports in the NCAA have tripled. The law works. Now it's time to make it work at the High School level.