Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Title IX Essay Example for Free
Title IX Essay Introduction Title IX, the first comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination in educational institutions on the basis of gender was passed in 1972. It was modeled after the Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It states that, â€Å"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†http://www.american.edu/sadker/titleix.htm Before its enactment, American colleges and universities were accused of discriminating against female students. Women were discouraged from pursuing higher level course work, especially mathematics and the sciences. This was done by setting rules that automatically benefited men and ruled out women. As a result, admission opportunities for women were low. This necessitated the drafting and passing of the Title IX to stem these tendencies.                                                       Application  It was a law designed to protect students and employees of educational institutions against discrimination based on their sex. Under this law, education institutions are required to observe policies, practices and programs that do not discriminate. This means that in any educational institution, males and females are expected to receive fair and equal treatment in all spheres of public schooling, recruitment, admissions and educational programs and activities. In addition, fairness should be observed in the courses being offered, counseling, financial aid towards these activities, employment assistance, housing health and insurance benefits. Furthermore, other areas like marital and parental status, scholarships, sexual harassment and athletics should be equally considered for both sexes. http://www.american.edu/sadker/titleix.htm The law applies to students, faculty and staff in federally funded education programs, th the elementary, secondary, college and university levels. It also covers affiliated programs and activities that receive federal funds like internships, correctional facilities, health care entities, unions and businesses. To be compliant to the law, you need to observe at least one of these things; demonstrate proportionate athletic opportunities for both sexes, have a history and continuing practice of expanding opportunities for under-represented sex, or full and effective accommodation of interests and abilities for the underrepresented sex. Another facet of the law requires that the total amount of athletic aid must be substantially proportionate to the number of male and female athletes. . http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/ge/aboutRE.html Further on, other programs should be taken into consideration; including equipment and supplies, scheduling of games and practice time, travel and per diem allowances, opportunity to receive academic tutoring and in addition receiving coaching, assignment and compensation. This is not all; Title IX requires that the institution provide quality locker room, practice and competitive facilities, medical and training facilities, housing and dining facilities, publicity, support services and equal opportunities for recruitment of student athletes. http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/ge/aboutRE.html                                           The Gains and Losses Title IX has had both negative and positive effects depending on how it has been enforced. The benefits include the increase of opportunities for female students in both academic and extra-curricula activities. An example is where, in 1972, 44% of bachelors degrees were earned by women, whereas in 2000 they increased by 57%. About Title IX, Retrieved on 17th Dec, 2007, from           http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/ge/aboutRE.html In another instance, the number of girls’ athletics team has shown a marked increase from 1981 to 1999, with a 66% increase. However, in spite of these gains, Title IX has come under criticism for various reasons: According to Jessica Gavora, the law has had negative effects on the men’s sporting teams. She argues that following the Cohen versus Brown ruling in 1995, Title IX has been interpreted to guarantee that schools have the same proportion of male and female athletes, as well as representation in the students’ body. As a result, many schools have had to cancel some men’s programme in order introduce new women’s programme so as to fulfill the law’s requirements.(Gavora, 2002) She gets support from other quarters that claim that the law actually discriminates against males, with girls’ teams prospering at the expense of the boys teams. To most of them, Title IX equates to women’s sports. According to the Independent Women’s Forum, between 1992 and 1993, 42 wrestling teams, 53 golf programs, 16 baseball teams, 23 swimming programs and 39 tennis squadrons were cancelled in order to meet Title IX requirements. It is claimed that while this is going on, the coaches have the difficult job of going around scouting for female athletes, and have had to give the scholarships to just anyone, as long as it a female.  (Gavora, 2002) However, the proponents counter that the reduction in male teams is a product of other factors, and not Title IX. According to Amanda, the reduction in men’s teams is a result of declining interest, liability considerations by the colleges, financial constraints and choices about budget allocation among the sports teams that the school would wish to sponsor, rather than considerations of Title IX. (Amanda, 2004) In a court ruling in the Cohen versus University of Chicago the court stated that the call for relative interest tests, in which funds would be allocated according to the interest in sports among the sexes, could not withstand legal or policy scrutiny, because it disadvantages women and undermines the purposes of Title IX. Furthermore, the perceived lack of interest on the side of the women is actually a manifestation of women’s historical lack of opportunities, and not lack of interest. (Amanda, 2004) Another area of contention has been the Standardized tests. Here, the Federal Courts and Office of Civil Rights used the law to modify standardized tests so as to include writing section and double the weight of the verbal section in order to cater for the females who take the test. (Epstein, M, 2003) Title IX has also had some negative consequences in the social life at the institutions. Here, many instances of witch hunting have been taking place, with claims of sexual harassment and date rapes. In some cases, although the offence has been committed an individual, blanket accusations follow, whereby the whole institution is designated a Hostile environment, and can be sued for sexual discrimination. According to Gavora, the most extreme case is where a six year-old boy was suspended for kissing another student on the cheek. (Gavora, 2002) In another case, the National Women’s Law Centre filed a suit which claims that the New York City school board discriminates against female because the engineering classes are male dominated. (Epstein, M, 2003) On June 27, 2002, Rod Paige, the United States Secretary of Education set up a commission called the Secretary’s Commission on Opportunities in Athletics. In the findings, the general feeling among the people was that the law had good intentions but i but wrong enforcement. College administrators have complained that the United States Department has failed to provide clear guidance on the how post secondary institutions can comply with Title IX Standards and policy interpretations, as a result, the institutions have been left to their own devices on how to enforce it. There is also a feeling of failure on the part of the Department Office for Civil Rights to enforce the law. The way in which the department enforces the law also leads to undue elimination of men’s teams. (Secretary of Education Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, 2003)                                              Conclusion It is apparent that the current controversies about Title IX are not going to end soon, depending on which side one looks at it from. Many women than men seem to support the law. For the opponents, it is feared that in future, more problems are going to emerge in other circles of school life, like drama, dance and mathematics. People are going to use their own interpretation of the law to suit their own ends, which are not the original intentions of the law. But for the proponents, this is an opportunity to give girls the opportunity they have been historically denied. However from the discussion, it is imperative to review the law to get rid of its vague language, to make it more acceptable and objective.                                                       References About Title IX, Retrieved on 17th Dec, 2007, from             http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/ge/aboutRE.html Amanda, H. (2004) Counter point: Title IX , â€Å"A Healthy Start, Still a Long Way to go†The Docket. Retrived on 17TH Dec. 2007, from www.docketonline.com Epstein, M (2003) Title IX, Retrieved, on 17th Dec.2007 from LewRockwell.com Gavora J. (2002) Tilting the Playing Field: Schools, Sports, Sex and Title IX http://www.american.edu/sadker/titleix.htm Kathryn J.L (2002), Spoiled Sports. Tilting the Playing Field: Schools, Sports, Sex, and          Title IX book review, Retrived on 17th Dec. 2007 from BNET.com United States Department of Education, (2003)†Open to all†Title at Thirty:  Secretary of         Education Commission on Opportunity in Athletics
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