{"id":2711,"date":"2011-08-24T08:35:51","date_gmt":"2011-08-24T12:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/crcl\/?p=2711"},"modified":"2016-11-16T20:39:37","modified_gmt":"2016-11-17T01:39:37","slug":"in-their-own-words-underenforcement-threatens-continued-vitality-of-title-ix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/crcl\/in-their-own-words-underenforcement-threatens-continued-vitality-of-title-ix\/","title":{"rendered":"In Their Own Words: Underenforcement Threatens Continued Vitality of Title IX"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each day this week, Amicus will feature an editorial post written by one of CRCL’s\u00a0new General Board members. Today’s post discusses the effects of the ongoing underenforcement of Title IX.<\/em><\/p>\n

On the eve of Title IX\u2019s fortieth anniversary, news of the federal government\u2019s failure to meaningfully enforce the law\u2019s provisions is troubling. Enacted in 1972, Title IX forbids sex discrimination in all schools that accept federal funds. The law has become nearly synonymous with gender equality in athletics, the area in which its provisions have had the most impact. However, as the New York Times<\/em> reported last month<\/a><\/span><\/span>, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), charged with enforcing Title IX, has grown lax in initiating its own investigations in recent years. Instead the office routinely allows schools to conduct their own investigations and create their own strategies to solve internal problems of sex discrimination. Unsurprisingly, this policy has been ineffective in inspiring change. According to Neena Chaudhry, senior counsel at the National Women\u2019s Law Center, \u201cmany schools are getting away with providing less opportunities to girls because they don\u2019t do what they\u2019re supposed to unless made to.\u201d<\/p>\n

OCR must overhaul its enforcement efforts if the progress that Title IX has made in expanding women\u2019s rights is to continue. No one disputes that Title IX has already accomplished a great deal in the fight for gender equality. The number of female high school athletes has increased by 940% since the passage of Title IX. The number of female varsity college athletes has increased by more than 450%. Indeed, recent studies<\/a><\/span><\/span> have shown that Title IX has had a direct impact on women\u2019s education and employment. One study, conducted at the University of Pennsylvania, found that changes set in motion by Title IX explained 20% of the increase in women\u2019s education and about 40% of the rise in employment for 25-to-34-year-old women. Even more importantly, Title IX has given all women, not just athletes, the opportunity and the confidence to chase dreams and succeed in careers once thought to be a man\u2019s domain.<\/p>\n

But such accomplishments are threatened by the current underenforcement of Title IX. Underenforcement has plagued past struggles for civil rights. For example, although Brown v. Board of Education<\/em> guaranteed all schoolchildren the right to attend desegregated schools, the Supreme Court\u2019s vague \u201cwith all deliberate speed\u201d timetable and the political branches\u2019 unwillingness to quickly implement the law led to years of delay. Indeed, enforcement problems with school desegregation continue to this day, as evidenced, for example, by the federal courts\u2019 recent takeover<\/a><\/span><\/span> of the Tuscon, Arizona school system.<\/p>\n

In order to truly fulfill the purpose of Title IX, OCR must seriously investigate potential violations. There is evidence that reform is underway. Since President Obama appointed Russlynn Ali to head OCR, the office has become more aggressive in initiating investigations and taking on powerful schools. Janet Judge, a lawyer specializing in Title IX, said she had noticed a difference since Ali\u2019s arrival. \u201cEnforcement is at the highest level I\u2019ve seen in my almost 20 years of Title IX practice,\u201d she said. Only a continued commitment to enforcement will ensure that the movement toward gender equality marches forward.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the eve of Title IX\u2019s fortieth anniversary, news of the federal government\u2019s failure to meaningfully enforce the law\u2019s provisions is troubling. The Office for Civil Rights must overhaul its enforcement efforts if the progress that Title IX has made in expanding women\u2019s rights is to continue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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