1972 Education Amendments Act #
Congress enacted Title IX in 1972 to prohibit sex-based discrimination in educational institutions.
No person in the United States shall on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
Regulations (1975) #
The Department of Education requested the Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) to provide factors as guidance to determine compliance with Title IX:
- Selection of sports and levels of competition effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of both sexes
- Provision of equipment and supplies
- Scheduling of games and practice times
- Travel per diem allowance
- Opportunity to receive coaching and academic tutoring
- Assignment and compensation of coaches and tutors
- Provision of locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities
- Provision of medical and training facilities and services
- Provision of housing and dining facilities and services
- Publicity
Policy Interpretation (1979) #
To further explain the meaning of “effectively accommodate the interests and abilities”, the OCR set forth a Three Prong test in 1979. To comply with Title IX an educational institution must meet one of the three prongs:
Prong One – Substantially Proportionate #
Whether level of participation for male and female students are provided in numbers substantially proportionate to their respective enrollments.
Prong Two – History and Continuing Practice of Expansion #
Where the members of one sex have been and are underrepresented among athletes, whether the institution can show a history and continuing practice of program expansion which is demonstrably responsive to the developing interest and abilities of the members of that sex
Prong Three – Fully and Effectively Accommodate Interests and Abilities #
If fail prongs one and two… Whether it can be demonstrated that the interests and abilities of the members of the underrepresented sex have been fully and effectively accommodated by the present program.
