Single-Sex Education

aka Sex-Segregated Schools

ACLU Lens: National Scrutiny of Single-Sex Programs Based on Stereotypes

By Robyn Shepherd, ACLU at 1:55pm

This week, the Associated Press reported on our “Teach Kids, Not Stereotypes” campaign challenging unlawful single-sex education programs around the country.

Another High School Rejects Stereotypes and Returns to Coeducation

By Allie Bohm, Advocacy & Policy Strategist, ACLU at 12:06pm

Central High School in La Crosse, Wisconsin has an anti-discrimination policy that reads pretty much like any other high school's anti-discrimination policy: It is the policy of the School District of La Crosse . . . that no person on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability, may be denied . . . participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any curricular . . . program . . . And, we're happy to report that Central High is finally back in the business of living up to its policy.

Turning the Tide Against Unlawful Sex Segregation in Public Schools

By Mie Lewis, Women's Rights Project at 12:32pm

In recent years, the number of public schools segregating their students by sex has ballooned, despite mounting evidence that single-sex programs don’t improve academic performance and instead perpetuate sex stereotypes. But things are changing. This week, yet another school district — this time in Tallapoosa County, Alabama — agreed to stop segregating its 350 middle school students by sex. The development in Alabama follows a string of similar turnarounds by school districts in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Louisiana.

ACLU Lens: Sex-Segregated Education Will Not Cure Our Ailing Schools

By Robyn Shepherd, ACLU at 4:47pm

Galen Sherwin of the ACLU Women's Rights Project was recently featured in the New York Times' Online Room for Debate discussing the drawbacks to sex-segregated education in public schools. Galen's essay was one of seven featured in the debate, which included educators and legal experts from both sides of the issue.

"Science" Says No to Single-Sex Education

By Galen Sherwin, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 1:04pm

When it comes to public education, there is no doubt that we are in a crisis, particularly when it comes to low-income and minority students. Unfortunately, the search for solutions has led to a movement across the country to establish single-sex classrooms and schools, many of which rely on the faulty theory that girls and boys learn differently and need to be educated separately. This is not a solution. Our sons and daughters deserve schools free from discrimination and stereotypes, including gender stereotypes.

Madison School Board Rejects Sex Segregated School

By Galen Sherwin, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 10:13am

Early Tuesday morning in Wisconsin, the Madison School Board voted 5-2 against a proposal to start a charter school that would have segregated students on the basis of sex, relying on a model of “gender specific” instruction.  The vote marked the culmination of a year-long advocacy campaign in which ACLU-WI collaborated closely with numerous allies.  

Same Gender Education a Gimmick

By Ronald E. Jackson, Executive Director, Citizens for Better Schools at 11:30am

Here in Alabama and across the South, our public schools — and the children who attend them — are under continuous assault. Cuts in state funding, school closings and increases in school and class sizes are just some of the ways the quality of education for our youngsters is undercut.

The fact that many of these decisions are made locally should not be misunderstood to mean they're made democratically. In reality, it's often the opposite: School officials agree on plans in private meetings, pre-meetings, and closed-door sessions. By the time a proposal reaches a public meeting, it's often a done deal. Parents and other community members frequently have little chance of influencing school decisions.

On HBO's "Gloria: In Her Own Words"

By Amy L. Katz, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 12:02pm

As I watched HBO's Gloria Steinem documentary, Gloria: In Her Own Words, I remembered the day that everything changed for me. Late June 1972. I was 17 and had just finished my first year of college. I was heading to Long Island with my mom to spend a day at the town pool near my aunt's home. We stopped at the newsstand at the Long Island Railroad station. I browsed through the magazines. The first newsstand issue of Ms. magazine caught my eye. The cover image of Wonder Woman accompanied by the headline "Wonder Woman for President" combined my newfound interest in politics with my life-long love of DC Comics characters. I bought it.

When Anne Frank’s Perspective Isn’t Good Enough For Your Students, It’s Time To Get A New Program

By Christina Brandt-Young, Attorney, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 12:54pm

Today, the ACLU Women’s Rights Project issued a preliminary report to the federal Department of Education, detailing the preliminary findings of our Teach Kids, Not Stereotypes campaign. After studying documents from single-sex classes in public schools in 11 states, the report explains that a significant percentage of these schools overwhelmingly base their programs on discredited science rooted in sex stereotypes, and don’t offer parents any reasonable alternative, in violation of the Constitution and Title IX.

Visiting Capitol Hill in Celebration of 40 Years of Title IX

By Galen Sherwin, ACLU Women's Rights Project & Amy L. Katz, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 3:02pm

Forty years ago, we would have been rarities, women lawyers. Congresswoman Gwen Moore would have been a greater rarity: an African American female member of the House of Representatives. Yesterday we were on Capitol Hill to celebrate the 40th anniversary of a law that helped make our careers possible: Title IX.

We attended a panel briefing, hosted by the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education and Rep. Moore in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Title IX and the launch of a new NCWGE report. Although Title IX is best known for its impact on increasing participation by women and girls in athletics, the report and the panel covered several of the less well-known applications of the landmark law, including career and technical education (CTE), science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), sexual harassment, the rights of pregnant and parenting students to complete their education, and single-sex education.

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