Is conducting a Title IX self-review important at the high school level? This high school athletic director says yes--and tells you how.
By David Paling
David Paling is the Director of Athletics, Health, and Physical Education, as well as Title IX Coordinator, for the Middleboro (Mass.) public school system.
Although much of the action involving Title IX compliance issues has occurred at the college level, lawsuits have been filed at the high school level as well, and additional cases appear imminent. As a result, high schools should seriously consider assessing their programs' compliance with Title IX. Such self-review can halt costly legal actions before they arise, and ensure the fair treatment of female athletes.
At Middleboro (Mass.) High School, our initiation into Title IX compliance occurred last fall, when a parent of two of our athletes questioned the athletic department's adherence to this law. After several attempts by school officials to satisfy the issues raised by the parent, our School Committee voted to hire an independent Title IX consultant. The consultant was to provide us with expertise in this area and give an objective critique of our program.
With the help of the consultant, our first step was to recognize the components of Title IX that related to our situation. While there are many aspects of Title IX to consider, the nine areas that are of particular concern to high schools are: effective accommodation of student interests and abilities; provision of equipment and supplies; scheduling of games and practice times; travel and per diem allowances; opportunities to receive coaching and compensation of coaches; provision of locker rooms, practice, and competitive facilities; provision of medical and training facilities and services; publicity; and provision of support services.
The next step involved gathering the necessary information to conduct the review--a process which included the entire department. My role, as Athletic Director, was to compile documentation about our program such as participation figures, coaching salaries, and details on support services. At the same time, the consultant sent a four-page questionnaire to every member of our coaching staff, made a brief site visitation, and spoke personally to the parent who made the initial complaint.
From this information, we compiled a written report which was presented formally to the School Committee. The report clearly stated where the athletic department was in compliance, and where potential problem areas existed. It also suggested the formation of a written plan of action to address the questionable areas. The review and accompanying plan have placed the Middleboro athletic department in a clear and defendable position regarding Title IX precepts.
The work we conducted on Title IX compliance at Middleboro High School should be appropriate for most high schools as they address this federal law and its broad implications. The following examination of the nine components is thus presented to guide other secondary schools toward conclusive results when examining their own athletic department programs and policies.
Effective Accommodation of Student Interests and Abilities
As stated by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR), this component area of Title IX is the most important. It refers to the opportunities being provided to male and female athletes both in the different sports offered and the levels of competition (e.g., freshman, junior varsity, and varsity). With an allowance of five percent, the athletic participation rate must be in line with the school's student population with respect to gender.
The 1995-96 breakdown at Middleboro showed 428 enrolled male students (52 percent), and 391 enrolled female students (48 percent). A total of 313 boys participated in athletic programs (57 percent), while 232 girls participated in athletic programs (43 percent). In examining these numbers, the good news was that the differential fell within the allowable five percent range between female student enrollment and the female participation rate in athletics. The same comparison for boys shows them well within, even exceeding, the allowable percentage.
Looking at projected future enrollments, however, raised a warning. Figures indicate significant increases in the female student population in future classes, which will push us outside of the five percent limit. In response, we must take measures now to increase the female participation rate in athletics. If prescribed steps in this direction are not taken, the athletic department could be found in violation of Title IX regulations in the future.
The bottom line was obvious: add either a level of an existing sport or a new sport altogether. Advance budget planning would be needed in either scenario.
With either option there will also be a need to promote the additional participation opportunities. Some strategies include holding end-of-the-year assemblies at junior high and middle schools to stimulate future interest, mentoring programs where high school athletes help guide the athletic or academic progress of junior high students, and holding girls' sports promotion nights where targeted audiences are given free or reduced admission to games. Also, when hiring coaches, we will look for those who have an infectious enthusiasm for their sport so that they might add to the attraction of participation.
Provision of Equipment and Supplies
Some of the questions we asked ourselves in this area were: What criteria are used when making decisions regarding per sport spending? What patterns can be seen from year to year in looking at items purchased for the various sport programs? Are uniforms and equipment available to athletes of all sports on an equitable basis? Is all equipment maintained equitably and replaced on an equal or rotational basis? Is the quality or amount of equipment disproportionate between boys' and girls' teams? These are critical questions relative to Title IX and give a good indication of potential compliance problems.
Certain sports, of course, require more equipment, creating what on the surface appears to be an imbalance. Football helmets, for instance, which must be replaced after a certain amount of use, may cause sizable fluctuations in the amount of money spent on a per sport basis. Title IX, however, does not dictate that the amount of money spent per sport be exactly equal. The unique nature of specific sports may present imbalances during certain fiscal years, and this is acceptable under Title IX regulations.
The central question here is "are all sports' program needs being reasonably and equitably met?" Safety is, of course, one criteria that can be justifiably applied. The boys' lacrosse team will need helmets while the girls' field hockey team will not. However, when it comes to an item such as uniforms, purchasing procedures must be equal. In this area an equitable approach would be to implement a rotational system where, for example, the football team receives new game pants one year and the softball team receives new game pants the next year. In analyzing the spending practices of sport teams, Title IX looks at the total athletic program.
Scheduling of Games and Practice Times
For the parent who made the initial complaint, the limited use of the football field--Battis Field--for soccer and field hockey games in the fall season proved to be the single largest source of concern. The athletic department maintained a policy of scheduling all freshman, junior varsity, and varsity level football games on Battis Field first, as this was the sole field available with lights that had been designed for football. Even though there were separate soccer and field hockey fields, a limited number of games for these sports were also scheduled on Battis Field so that there were opportunities to play night games.
Disagreement existed over the fact that soccer and field hockey games were always scheduled secondary to football games, and that varsity football games were played largely on Friday nights. The parent felt strongly that Friday nights were "prime time" and that all teams should share Fridays equally throughout the season. The athletic department disagreed and felt its view on the use of Battis Field was in compliance with Title IX. The hiring of the consultant was intended to resolve this matter.
In examining this area, the consultant explained that Title IX language is not so specific as to spell out what days of the week certain teams ought to play at certain facilities. The key questions to be applied here had to do with policies and practices. Were they non-discriminatory and gender-neutral between all sport programs? Did all teams have practice and game fields available to them, and access to the field with lights? The focus, again, is on the total program and giving all teams sufficient numbers of games, practice opportunities, preseason and postseason opportunities, and facility and field access.
Beyond these general aspects of scheduling, Title IX allows individual athletic departments to determine the best use of what is available to them. The consultant thus determined that the athletic department's approach was correct in its scheduling of the football field.
Travel and Per Diem Allowances
In this area, the key is consistency in distributing funds that might go toward lodging, meals, mileage, and other associated costs. An examination of our transportation policies for away games revealed compliance--all teams travel by bus or van in comparable fashion and overnight trips are rare.
However, a question was raised regarding transportation to home games. Our baseball, football, soccer, field hockey, swimming, and golf teams compete at home sites short distances away from the high school campus, and school-wide policy states that athletes may not be left on their own to travel to these facilities. The athletic department, in an effort to control transportation costs, takes advantage of shuttle buses that travel in the vicinity of these sites as a matter of their daily routines. The bus company permits teams to board these buses and travel to their playing sites at no cost to the athletic department. At the end of games, athletes are responsible for their own transportation home. When the football team has a home game, however, a team bus is contracted to take the squad to and from the playing field, situated about one mile away from the high school.
Because Title IX regulations allow for differences due to the unique nature of particular sports, this practice was deemed to be in compliance. The large amount of protective gear used in football, which is stored in lockers at the high school, was categorized as part of the unique nature of this sport. The other teams, which have much less individual equipment, are more mobile and did not require the round-trip bus expense.
Opportunity to Receive Coaching and Compensation of Coaches
Title IX specifies that all athletes be provided with the opportunity for coaching, and that hiring practices and procedures be non-discriminatory and gender neutral. In this component, we studied the following questions: How does the athletic department determine the number of assistant coaches hired per team? Are certain coaches--and not others--relieved of teaching loads or other duties while coaching? What are the criteria used to determine the amounts that coaches are paid? Are the duration and manner of contracts for all sport coaches the same? What is the gender composition of the total coaching staff? What is the gender composition of head coaches?
In answering the last question, we though we might have a problem, since the Middleboro coaching staff is presently comprised of 30 male coaches and eight female coaches. However, because the pool of female candidates is quite limited in our area, and substantial efforts are being made to increase this pool, the review noted that there is not a compliance problem. The efforts made by the athletic department to secure female coaches, including such undertakings as local and regional advertisements, specialty programs such as Adopt-A-Coach (see Athletic Management April/May 1995 issue), and personal approaches made by the athletic director were sufficient.
It is also useful to point to a policy statement being considered for adoption by the Middleboro School Committee. This statement, as suggested by the Title IX consultant, reads, "Every effort to recruit and hire female coaches, without compromising the safety, health, and coaching opportunities received by the student-athletes, will be made when future coaching positions are available." The adoption of such a policy statement will help to place the Middleboro athletic department in a stronger position should compliance related questions arise.
Provision of Locker Room, Practice, and Competitive Facilities
It came as no surprise when the consultant noted that Middleboro was in need of facility improvements. The information collected by the consultant repeatedly noted deficiencies such as: four soccer teams having to practice on a single field; the wrestling team at times practicing in the cafeteria; no practice or game fields with irrigation systems; bleachers at Battis Field needing replacement; and less than cleanly locker room areas. This was a partial list, but central to the question of compliance was: Is one sport program receiving an unfair share of attention in terms of maintaining or improving facilities?
In Middleboro's case, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that all teams suffer equally. Each program faces its own set of problems, and no one program receives favorable treatment.
However, in order to stay on the side of compliance regarding facilities, we developed a timetable as part of our written plan. The timetable addresses the necessary improvements in all of the areas, with like benefits for both boys' and girls' programs.
Provision of Medical and Training Facilities and Services
This component area of Title IX is largely associated with athletic training services and weight room facilities. Does your athletic trainer provide services via policies that do not discriminate between sports? Is the weight room accessible to all sport programs? Is weight room supervision and instruction available to all sport programs?
The following is an example of an equitable policy for offering athletic training services: On any given day, the athletic trainer will service athletes with away games first, athletes with home games second, and athletes with practices third. Within that framework, individual athletes are treated on a first come, first serve basis.
Publicity
This component area of Title IX speaks to publicity resources being accessible to both boys' and girls' programs. Although this may be a relatively minor component compared to others, there are certain aspects of high school programs that should be assessed: Does the school newspaper and yearbook provide similar attention to boys' and girls' teams? Are efforts to work with local media equal for all sport programs? Does the athletic department work to provide equitable promotion to all sport programs?
Provision of Support Services
The secretarial, clerical, and administrative assistance that athletic departments receive must be utilized in such a way as to not discriminate between boys' and girls' teams. In this area, we examined how all administrative support--from the athletic director to student part-time workers--was utilized. The big question here was: Do staff members spend more time and resources supporting the boys' teams than the girls' teams?
For high schools, careful scrutiny of the above nine areas, and the subsequent development of a plan to address any deficiencies or potential problems, should ensure Title IX compliance. And more importantly, it will guarantee that your male and female athletes are being treated equally.