Transcript The Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center’s Title IX K

FAIR PLAY FOR GIRLS IN SPORTS
THE LEGAL AID SOCIETY-EMPLOYMENT
LAW CENTER’S
TITLE IX K-12 EQUALITY PROJECT
ELIZABETH KRISTEN, ESQ.
TAMIKA L. BUTLER, ESQ.
Presentation at AAUW California
Convention
LAS-ELC BACKGROUND
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Non-profit legal aid organization
Founded in 1916
Title IX K-12 Equality Project since 2003
Focuses on access to athletics for young women and girls
Utilizes negotiation and litigation techniques
Also provides technical assistance re State and Federal
legislation
Community education
AAUW: KNOW THE SCORE
TITLE IX PROGRAM IN A BOX
Launched 2009
 On the web at:

http://www.aauw.org/act/laf/library/TitleIXComplianc
e.cfm
 http://www.las-elc.org/work-gender-equity.html
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FAIR PLAY IN SPORTS PROJECT
BACKGROUND
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2011 Grant from John and Terry Levin and the
Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of
California
Goal: To advance the promise of Title IX and AB
2404 for poor girls in grades K–12
Will employ a multi-pronged approach of:
Public education
 Policy advocacy
 Technical assistance
 Strategic litigation.
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Will focus on low-income and minority girls
THE LAWS
TITLE IX
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Title IX of the
Education Amendments
of 1972
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
WHAT DOES TITLE IX MEAN FOR
ATHLETICS?
Equal Participation
Opportunities for
Females
 Equal Treatment and
Benefits for Females
 No Retaliation
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AB2404 IN CALIFORNIA
Signed in 2004
 Requires equity in
Parks and Recreation
programs in
California
 Uses Title IX-like
standards:
participation
opportunities and
equal treatment &
benefits
 Has been essentially
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PARKS AND RECREATION
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The law’s definition of “parks
and recreation facilities and
resources” includes all of the
following:
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Park facilities
Athletic fields
Courts
Gymnasiums
Recreational rooms
Restrooms,
Concession stands
Storage spaces
This definition also includes
resources “used to promote
athletic activities, such as
scoreboards, banners, and
advertising, and all moneys
used in conjunction with youth
athletics.”
BENEFITS OF SPORTS
TITLE IX
Before Title IX, fewer than 295,000 girls
participated in high school athletics
 In 2010-11 that number increased to 3,173,549
 Nationally, girls are 49% of high school students
but just 41% of high school athletes
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EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS
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Girls who participate in sports receive better grades and more
likely to graduate
The correlation is particularly strong for minority girls who
participate in sports
At the collegiate level, female students who receive sports
scholarships graduate at higher rates than female students
generally
To receive a scholarship students must acquire the necessary
skills and discipline at the elementary and high school levels
HEALTH BENEFITS
 Girls
who were also athletes were half as
likely to become pregnant than girls who
were not athletes. Early childbearing is a
common cause of school dropout for girls,
and is a strong predictor of female poverty
 Girls who participate in sports possess
higher self-esteem
EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
 Sports
teams provide girls with
opportunity for leadership, teamwork, and
competition
 Girls who participate in high school sports
are more likely than non-athletes to
“aspire to be leaders in their communities
as adults”
 A nationwide random poll of 401 senior
women business executives was conducted
in December 2001. More than eighty
percent reported that they played
organized sports after grammar school
2010 BETSEY STEVENSON
STUDY
Beyond the Classroom: Using Title IX to Measure
the Return to High School Sports.
BETSEY STEVENSON STUDY
 NBER
Working Paper February 2010.
 10% increase in sports for girls => 1% increase
college for women
 10% increase in sports for girls =>1-2%
increase in labor force participation for women
 Being a HS athlete => 8% higher wages for
women
2011 WOMEN’S SPORTS
FOUNDATION STUDY
Progress Without Equity: The Provision of High
School Athletic Opportunity in the United States
by Gender 1993-94 through 2005-06
PERCENTAGE OF ATHLETIC PARTICIPATION
OPPORTUNITIES THAT U.S. HIGH SCHOOLS
PROVIDED TO GIRLS AND BOYS
45
36
31
51
47
39
KEY POINTS
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The November 2011 Study Found:
The lowest percentage of athletic participation
opportunities occurred in urban schools
 The percentage of athletic participation opportunities
was highest for both girls and boys in the Northeast,
followed closely by the Midwest
 The fewest number of athletic participation
opportunities exist in the South
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CASE STUDY
Ollier v. Sweetwater
Class Action Complaint filed April
2007
BACKGROUND
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Castle Park High School fired
the girls’ beloved softball
coach when a parent
complained about inequality
for female athletes at the
school.
After negotiations with the
school failed, Legal Aid, along
with co-counsel, brought a
class action to challenge
unequal facilities and
participation opportunities,
as well as the alleged
retaliation.
Though Title IX was enacted
in 1972, this was the first
case brought to trial against
a high school for denying
female athletes equal
treatment in sports
programs. The Castle Park
SOFTBALL FIELD
SEPTEMBER 27, 2006
9/4/07
BASEBALL FIELD
SEPTEMBER 4, 2007
SOFTBALL OUTFIELD
MAY 9, 2008
SOFTBALL OUTFIELD LOOKING TOWARDS LEFT FIELD WITH
REMOVABLE FENCING
APRIL 30, 2009
SOFTBALL INFIELD GRASSLINE AND OUTFIELD
MAY 13, 2010
BASEBALL FIELD INFIELD
MAY 13, 2010
BACK OF THIRD BASE BASEBALL DUGOUT
MAY 9, 2008
CLOSE UP OF “HOME” STENCILED ON SOFTBALL DUGOUT ROOF
APRIL 30, 2009
COURTROOM
Day 1
of
Trial
TRIAL BEGINS
September 14, 2010
 Judge M. James Lorenz
 U.S. District Court, San Diego
 Set for 8 trial days
 Trial lasts for 10 trial days over 3 weeks
 Counsel from LAS-ELC, CWLC and Manatt
 Findings of fact and conclusions of law submitted
December 13, 2010
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Day 1
of
Trial
ELIZABETH KRISTEN & VERONICA OLLIER
ERIN WITKOW, ELIZABETH KRISTEN, VERONICA OLLIER,
VICKY BARKER, CACILIA KIM
Day 1
of
Trial
POST TRIAL VICTORY!
JUDGE’S ORDER
 Issued
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February 9, 2012
Cited a recent 7th circuit case Parker regarding
the importance of athletics for young women.
Also cites the lasting effects of discrimination
 “[E]qual
athletic treatment is not a luxury.
It is not a luxury to grant equivalent
benefits and opportunities to women. It is
not a luxury to comply with the law.
Equality and justice are not luxuries.”
JUDGE’S FINDINGS
Female athletes at Castle Park had inferior
conditions in every category and did not receive
equitable treatment or benfits
 Retaliation by firing of coach
 No mention of cost
 Declaratory relief
 Injunctive relief
 Monitoring and continuing jurisdiction
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“As a result of systemic administrative failures at
CPHS, female athletes have received unequal
treatment and benefits before and during the time this
action was pending.”
3/7/12
FOOTBALL WEIGHT ROOM
Post Trial
Site Visit
3/7/12
FOOTBALL WEIGHT ROOM
Post Trial
Site Visit
3/7/12
Post Trial
Site Visit
SOFTBALL BULLPEN
3/7/12
Post Trial
Site Visit
NEW BASEBALL
CLUBHOUSE
3/7/12
Post Trial
Site Visit
NEW BASEBALL
CLUBHOUSE
3/7/12
Post Trial
Site Visit
BASEBALL CONCESSIONS
3/7/12
Post Trial
Site Visit
BASEBALL CONCESSIONS
3/7/12
Post Trial
Site Visit
SOFTBALL DUGOUT
3/7/12
SOFTBALL INFIELD
Post Trial
Site Visit
3/7/12
SOFTBALL INFIELD
Post Trial
Site Visit
3/7/12
Post Trial
Site Visit
SOFTBALL OUTFIELD
WHAT CAN YOU DO IN YOUR COMMUNITY?
Download the Program in a Box
 Hold a Community Forum on Title IX
 Write letters to legislators about Title IX
 Read a book or watch a movie about Title IX
 Conduct a “smell test” at your local schools
 Attend female athletic events at your local high
schools and colleges
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HOW TO LOOK AT PARTICIPATION NUMBERS
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Office of Civil Rights Data Collection
Department of Justice Office of Postsecondary
Education Equity In Athletics Data Analysis
Cutting Tool: http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/
States have data collection systems
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For Example in California:
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Check California Department of Education Website:
dataquest: http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/
Will show enrollment by gender at California public schools
Contact California Interscholastic Federation for Sports
Participation Data at your local schools
HOW TO LOOK AT TREATMENT & BENEFITS
Go to games at your
local high school
 Check out the fields
 Look at the school
newspaper
 Check out the school’s
website
 Examine a school
yearbook
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WHY AAUW?
National network of engaged and
educated women to become a force
to advocate for full
implementation of
Title IX
QUESTIONS?
QUESTIONS?
Legal Aid
SocietyEmployment
Law Center
(415) 864-8848
www.las-elc.org