Athletic programs are extracurricular activities offered to students as part of their educational program. Participation in athletic programs helps all students develop self-confidence, self discipline and it enhances their physical and academic performance.

To demonstrate that it offers equal opportunities for both males and females to play sports, a school must show:

• that the percentage of male and female athletes are about the same as the percentages of male and female students enrolled at the school; or
• that the school has a history and continuing practice of expanding athletic opportunities for students of the underrepresented gender (usually females); or
• that the school is effectively accommodating the interests and abilities of females and males (Sports Interest Surveys are conducted).

To demonstrate that it offers equal opportunities for both males and females to play sports, a school must also show:

• Equitable distribution of equipment and supplies
• Equitable scheduling of games and practice times
• Equal travel and per diem allowances
• Equal opportunity to receive coaching and academic tutoring
• Equal assignment and compensation of coaches and tutors
• Equal access to locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities
• Equal publicity (news coverage, awards, recognition)
• Equal policies regarding recruitment

It is important to note that schools do not have to provide identical benefits and services to their male and female athletes, as long as schools treat them equally overall. Equal does not mean identical, but any differences must not result in second-class treatment.

Schools must give male and female students alike a fair chance to play sports, and they must provide male and female athletes with equal support. That means they must generally treat males and females equally overall in the athletic program.

Some Permitted Practices

• Schools may organize separate teams for females and males when
  (a) the activity is a contact sport;
  or
  (b) objective testing (skill evaluation) results in a single-sex group.
• Schools may offer separate teams based on sex to accommodate all students' interests and abilities when skill is the criteria for selection and the selection process results in the elimination of one sex from a team.

Some Prohibited Practices

• Schools may not deny access or athletic opportunities to participants based on sex.
• Schools may not accept contributions from booster clubs or other volunteer organizations that are given to teams or members of only one sex.
• Schools may not restrict coaching positions for men's sports to males and women's sports to females.

Physical Education

Unlike athletic programs, physical education programs are offered to students as part of a balanced and comprehensive curriculum. Physical Education activities consist of class offerings, not extracurricular activities. Just as any other class offering, physical education classes must be conducted in the coeducational manner prescribed by law.

Except for units on human sexuality, all physical education classes must be co-instructional. All students must have equal access to all physical education courses and sections offered. Female and male students must participate together in physical education classes.

Some Permitted Practices

• Schools may group students according to ability, as assessed by objective standards, within classes or activities. Such groupings may result in groups composed of one or predominantly one sex.
• Students may be separated by sex within classes for participation in wrestling, boxing, rugby, ice hockey, football and other sports in which the major activity involves bodily contact. Baseball and softball are not considered contact sports.
• Elective classes such as aerobics, dance and football, which tend to attract one sex, may be offered. However, there must be an equal opportunity for both sexes to join. There can be no adverse scheduling, no adverse counseling, no adverse course description or course names, and a demonstrable effort should be made to recruit students into nontraditional choices.
• A school may permit a designated period of physical education for athletic team participants provided that both male and female athletes have the same opportunities. After the conclusion of the season of sport, the class must be integrated.
• Classes dealing exclusively with sex and sexuality may be separated on the basis of sex. A class including a unit of sex and sexuality may be separated during that part of the unit only.
  

Some Prohibited Practices

• Sex segregated Physical Education instruction is not permitted (except when the topic is human sexuality). So, during team teaching, a male and a female P.E. teacher may not divide their combined classes by sex and deliver sex-segregated instruction to their students, even if they are in the same room.
• A single standard for skill measurement may not be used if it results in an adverse impact on one sex. Different standards, without gender bias, must be used.
• Schools may not have separate Physical Education departments for men and women teachers. A single department which supports programs for all students is required.
• Schools may not require some students to wear uniforms and not require other students to wear them. If uniforms are required, all students must wear them.
• Gymnasiums, practice rooms and outdoor spaces may not be sex-designated.

Complaint Process

• Take your verbal or written Title IX complaint to the school administrator or Title IX Compliant Manager within six months from the date the incident occurred. You have the right to a timely and informal resolution at the school site.



• If you are not satisfied with the school site resolution, you may file a written complaint appeal directly with the Local District's Title IX Designee within 15 days of receiving the school site decision. This will begin the formal investigation process which must be completed within 60 days.



• If you are not satisfied with the Local District's response, you may appeal their decision by writing or calling the Title IX Coordinator in the District's Educational Equity Compliance Office or by writing to the California Department of Education Office of Equal Opportunity.

Where Can I Obtain Further Information or Assistance?

• At Your School:
  Ask to speak to the school's Title IX Complaint Manager.



• At Your Local District site:

Ask to speak to the Local District's Title IX Designee.


• At the District's Central Office:

Call or write to Sue Spears,
Director and District Title IX
Coordinator
Educational Equity Compliance
333 South Beaudry Avenue
20th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90017
telephone: (213) 241-7682
fax: (213) 241-3312

Check it Out: An explanation of Title IX athletic requirements from NWLC
GREAT: Girls Really Expect a Team
Office for Civil Rights ( federal agency that enforces Title IX)
Women's Sport Foundation
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