Title IX

Title IX, a groundbreaking statute intended to end sex discrimination in education, became the law of the land on June 23, 1972. While most famous for its requirement that schools provide girls with equal athletic opportunities, the law applies to all educational programs that receive federal funding, and to all aspects of a school's educational system. Title IX benefits both boys and girls and is the lynchpin of 40 years of efforts to promote and establish gender equity in schools. Learn more >>

02/05/2013
Single-Sex Education

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.

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08/30/2012
Single-Sex Education

Back to Coeducation in Wood County: Judge Rules School May Not Separate Students by Sex This Year

By Amy L. Katz, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 3:56pm

The Van Devender Middle School in Wood County, West Virginia, will return to coeducation next week, thanks to the efforts of a courageous mother who refused to allow her daughters to be assigned to discriminatory single-sex classes for another year. Girls and boys were separated at Van Devender for all core curriculum classes and were being taught using different methods based on dangerous sex stereotypes.

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08/24/2012
Pregnant and Parenting Teens

What’s Wrong with Blaming Teen Parents?

By Denicia Cadena & Micaela Cadena. According to recent data, New Mexico has the 2nd highest teen pregnancy rate in the country; it follows that New Mexico has high numbers of parents who had their first children as teenagers. As a young mama recently shared,

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08/20/2012
Single-Sex Education

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.

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08/10/2012
Title IX

You Can't Replace Spikes with Splits

By Navya Lakkaraju, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 5:20pm

Though it’s been 40 long years since Title IX was passed, discouraging stories continue to pop up all around the country that show that many people just don’t want to implement this groundbreaking law. In 2009, Quinnipiac University in Connecticut decided to cut funding for their Women’s Volleyball team. This put them in direct violation of Title IX, a federal law that requires educational institutions to provide equal opportunities to participate in activities, including sports, for female and male students, and the ACLU of Connecticut sued on behalf of the former coach and women’s volleyball players.   But Quinnipiac claimed they weren’t restricting opportunities to women athletes. They claimed compliance with Title IX by triple-counting female cross country runners – who were also on the rosters of track and field teams – even if they didn’t actually compete. And to top it off, they claimed to have replaced volleyball with a suitable alternative: they installed a competitive cheerleading team in its place.

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08/06/2012
Pregnant and Parenting Teens

Get Tested Or Get Out: School Forces Pregnancy Tests on Girls, Kicks out Students Who Refuse or are Pregnant

By Tiseme Zegeye, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 12:33pm

In a Louisiana public school, female students who are suspected of being pregnant are told that they must take a pregnancy test. Under school policy...

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07/02/2012
Women's Rights in the Workplace

The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Act Turns 20

 

While we’re all celebrating the 40th anniversary of the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and oh, we are, let’s also take a moment to celebrate the 20th anniversary of another excellent law passed in 1992:  The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Act.  
 
This week, the U.S. Department of Labor used WANTO to award $1.8 million in grants to improve women’s participation in apprenticeships in industries such as advanced manufacturing, transportation, construction, and new and emerging green occupations.  Several of the grantees, such as Chicago Women in Trades, Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc., West Virginia Women Work, and Women in Non Traditional Employment Roles, have extensive experience moving women into construction – a notoriously male-dominated field.  Each of the six grantees will place at least 100 women in apprenticeships over the next two years.
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06/22/2012
Title IX

Title IX: Means More than Sports For My Daughter and All of Our Children

By Lenora M. Lapidus, Women's Rights Project at 5:43pm

Today, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Title IX, a civil rights law that despite, or maybe because of, its brevity (the law’s main provision is only 36 words long) has become an indispensable tool for fighting gender discrimination in education. Most famously, Title IX has done much to level the playing field in athletics. Since it was enacted, girls’ participation in sports has risen a staggering 90 percent. But that’s not ALL Title IX is about. So while we celebrate girls’ and women’s increasing success on the field, it’s worth noting the other ways in which Title IX creates more fair and equal schools.

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06/22/2012
Title IX

Happy Big 4-0, Title IX!

On June 23rd, 1972, President Nixon signed Title IX into law. Nearly 40 years later, the passage of Title IX is viewed as an unequivocal milestone in the struggle to protect, defend and expand civil liberties. As we celebrate Title IX’s 40th birthday, it is worth reflecting on its significance, as well as on the challenges that lie ahead.

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06/22/2012
Title IX

Celebrating Title IX at 40: Texas Victory Leads to Better Response to Sexual Assault in Schools

By Ariela Migdal, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 10:56am

My kids’ school let out for the summer this week, and as I drove by the locked doors today I was overcome with a warm feeling that comes when you know your children were able to learn in a safe environment. Our client, Rachel Bradshaw (in previous communications about this case Rachel was referred to as “Faith” to protect her privacy while this matter was under OCR investigation), used to think that she was safe at school too, until that feeling was shattered after she was sexually assaulted by another student. Instead of supporting her or taking steps to support Rachel's ability to learn, her school responded to the rape by exiling her to a disciplinary program with her attacker, where she had to see him daily. 

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