Monitoring Athletics for Gender Equity.

With multiple concerns in administering a school district, superintendents pay comparatively minimal attention to gender equity in interscholastic athletics.

Some believe this issue is the responsibility of the high school principal or athletic director. However, if gender equity in athletics goes unchecked, it may come back to haunt the superintendent and school board.

Gender equity is not a new term. Its meaning, however, has taken on added significance recently as four related bills have been introduced in Congress as a gender equity in education package.

One bill, addressing inequities in intercollegiate sports, would require public disclosure of rates of participation and program expenses for each institution's men's and women's teams. Another measure would move the enforcement of Title IX from the U.S. Education Department to the Justice Department.

The congressional interest should send a message to public school leadership that gender equity must be taken seriously.

Gender-equity litigation in athletics has exploded on the collegiate level since the Supreme Court's 1992 ruling in Franklin v. Gwinnett County, which allows sex discrimination victims the right to sue for monetary damages.

Title IX lawsuits could have serious consequences for public school districts, even including court-mandated funding and control of athletic programs.

School leaders cannot justify gender-equity discrimination due to financial shortages--a precedent established in federal courts in a recent case involving Colorado State University. Amicus briefs in support of the university were filed by the Birmingham Public Schools and the Alabama Association of School Boards.

Legal Steps

Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools receiving federal aid. The law addresses participation opportunities and treatment afforded participants of each sex.

Participation opportunities are defined as the number of slots on teams as determined by the number of athletes on each team. A school should be able to show that the number of male and female athletes are proportionate to the school's enrollment.

For example, if the enrollment of females in the school is 55 percent, the number of female students participating in the interscholastic athletic program should be approximately 55 percent. If not, the school must be able to show that the interests and abilities of the underrepresented females are accommodated fully and effectively by the existing program to the same degree as the interests and abilities of men. To comply, many schools may need to add womens' sports to the interscholastic program to achieve equity--a scenario that basically meets the same requirements colleges and universities are held to by the courts.

In addition, superintendents should give attention to comparable training facilities, playing fields, gymnasiums, locker room space, uniforms, and equipment for girls. Practice sessions and prime time for game competition should be equalized to allow better exposure for girls' teams.

The message on gender equity in athletics for collegiate sports is clear. School districts should prepare themselves to avoid the inevitable future consequences of noncompliance.