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Title IX minority pushes enforcement, not change
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The law requiring equal opportunity for male and female athletes can be better enforced and explained, but the push to loosen the rules should be rejected, say two dissenting members of the nation's Title IX panel. Their views, outlined in detail in their minority report, aim to counter a series of proposed changes in how colleges carry out the landmark anti-discrimination law. Education Secretary Rod Paige was due to receive those recommendations, compiled by his Title IX review commission, as well as the two members' minority report Wednesday. "Rather than changing the policies that have been so important in opening opportunities for women and girls ... the Department of Education should focus on using those policies to educate schools and the public about the importance of equal opportunity," said the minority view expressed by soccer player Julie Foudy and former Olympic swimmer Donna de Varona. "Women and girls who play sports -- and the fathers and brothers who support them -- deserve no less," they wrote. Disunited frontThe commission's chairman, Stanford University athletic director Ted Leland, had hoped to avoid the awkwardness of competing reports by negotiating with his two dissenting members. But several phone calls failed to help; Leland viewed the commission's work as centrist while Foudy and de Varona said it would " critically weaken this important civil rights law."
The minority report asserts that Title IX, in ensuring more opportunities for women over the last 30 years, has not been the cause of any cuts in men's sports. That point of contention is central to the commission's work and many of its recommendations. The minority report says there are fewer girls and women in sports because of "persistent discrimination" against them, not because of a lack of interest among females. Overall, the report says the commission gave short shrift to dissenting views, unfairly focused on men's sports, rushed its work and failed to even assess the impact of its ideas. What's needed, the minority report says, is an educational campaign so schools can better understand how to meet any part of the law's "three-part" test. That test, the heart of Title IX enforcement, could change significantly if Paige adopts the commission's ideas. Schools can now comply in one of three ways: proving they meet their female students' interest in sports; expanding opportunities for women; or ensuring opportunities for men and women are "substantially proportionate" to the percentage of men and women on campus. Those that don't comply risk losing federal money. Pivotal pointsIt is unclear how much punch the minority report will pack. Most members of the 15-person commission thought the Education Department must give schools more flexibility. Among the recommendations under debate: • More flexibility in rules concerning non-scholarship athletes, older athletes and roster slots as they comply with Title IX. The minority report says those changes would lead to substantial cuts in sports for women. • More leeway for the education secretary to consider new ways for schools to comply with Title IX. Critics say that could lead to a "wholesale abandonment" of enforcement. • Greater ability for schools to accept private money to prevent programs from being cut. The minority report says that would steer "private slush funds to male teams." Commission critics will present their findings at a Wednesday morning news conference. Among the expected speakers are actress Geena Davis and Democratic senators Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. Later in the day, commission leaders will brief reporters on the group's work, probably focusing on the panel's commitment to Title IX and the ideas which drew consensus. Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Rather than changing the policies ... the Department ofEducation should focus on using those policies to educate schools and the public about the importance of equal opportunity.
