State Legislation Template
Complying with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 should not result in the reduction of opportunities for male athletes to participate in varsity athletics. Unfortunately, at most institutions, there is no incentive system in place to encourage maintaining sports opportunities for men. It is easier to cut wrestling or men's gymnastics and use these funds to provide opportunities for women to play than to deal with the politics of reducing the football or men's basketball team's budget. That is why the Foundation is in favor of the following legislative initiative to assist colleges and universities in achieving Title IX compliance. There is precedent for states to enact laws which confer financial relief in an effort to remedy widespread discrimination. The states of Washington, Florida and Minnesota have all enacted state laws to provide funding to achieve gender equity in athletics.
The following legislative initiative enables state legislators to strongly state their commitments to (1) gender equity, (2) maintainance of sports opportunities for all male and female athletes and (3) the creation of environments that encourage and financially support expansion of opportunities for previously disadvantaged populations in athletics. The Foundation urges all institutions of higher education to consider proposing this or similar legislative solutions to assist in the achievement of gender equity in intercollegiate athletics.
A Commitment to Opportunities for Male and Female Athletes via Tuition Waivers for the Historically Underrepresented Gender
PREFACE
Over the past 15 years, many institutions nationwide have eliminated or downgraded to "club" status men's varsity intercollegiate sports or placed squad size limits on men's teams. Most schools cite, as the reason for their decision, the need to reduce expenditures on men's sports in order to provide opportunities for women. In fact, during the 1980s, when few schools were attempting to expand their women's sports programs, men's non-revenue sports programs were being dropped because of the budget increases given to men's football and basketball. Over the last five years, according to the 1997 NCAA Gender Equity Study, football budgets have increased 139% while the entire women's athletics budget increases have totaled 79%. Causative factors aside, the dropping of men's sports programs with the blame being placed on the growth of women's sports opportunities had created an acrimonious environment at many schools. Men's non-revenue sports are being unfairly pitted against women's sports - the disadvantaged vs. the disadvantaged.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 does not require that men's sports opportunities be reduced in order to achieve equity. All sports can be asked to cut their budgets to free up funds for expanded opportunities for women. Or, Division I programs can move to Division II competition (or Division II to Division III), thereby reducing scholarship and other expenses. The last alternative should be cutting opportunities for students to participate in the educational activity.
Unfortunately, there is no incentive system in place to encourage maintaining sports opportunities for men. It is easier to cut wrestling or men's gymnastics than to deal with the politics of reducing the football team's budget. The following legislative initiative enables state legislators to strongly state their commitment to (1) gender equity, (2) maintaining sports opportunities for all male and female athletes, and (3) creating environments that encourage and financially support expansion of opportunities for previously disadvantaged populations in athletics.
Executive Summary
The proposed legislation permits a waiver of the tuition portion of an athletic scholarship for members of the historically underrepresented gender at public institutions of higher education conditioned on the institution complying with the following requirements:
1. The institution must submit an athletics gender equity compliance plan in year one which shows the steps to be taken over no more than five years to achieve equitable opportunities to participate and comparable benefits of participation in intercollegiate athletics for male and female students.
2. The athletic department must use the funds saved through tuition waivers to expand opportunities or benefits for the underrepresented gender.
3. There must be no reduction of sports opportunities for male athletes.
Legislation Template
AN ACT Relating to gender equity in higher education; amending (cite state higher education section dealing with tuition waivers); providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF _____________________:
Sec. 1. Institutions of higher education shall accomplish the following goals by June 30, 2002;
(1) Provide the following benefits and services equitably to male and female athletes participating in intercollegiate athletic programs: Equipment and supplies; medical services; services and insurance; transportation and per diem allowances; opportunities to receive coaching and instruction; scholarships and other forms of financial aid; conditioning programs; laundry services; assignment of game officials; opportunities for competition, publicity, and awards; and scheduling of games and practice times, including use of courts, gymnasia and pools. Each institution which provides showers, toilets, lockers or training room facilities for athletic purposes shall provide access to comparable facilities for both males and females.
(2) Provide equitable intercollegiate athletic opportunities for male and female students including opportunities to participate and to receive the benefits of the services listed in subsection (1) of this section without decreasing current levels of participation for the overrepresented gender.
(3) Provide participants with female and male coaches and administrators to act as role models.
Sec. 2
(1) An institution of higher education shall not grant any waivers for the purpose of achieving gender equity until the 1997-98 academic year, and may grant waivers for the purpose of achieving gender equity in intercollegiate athletic programs as authorized in (cite higher education section dealing with tuition waivers). For the 1997-98 academic year only if the institution's governing board has adopted a plan for complying with the provisions of subsection (1) of Sec. 1 of (reference citation of all sections) and submitted the plan to the higher education coordinating board.
(2) (a) Beginning in the 1998-99 academic year, an institution of higher education shall not grant any waiver for the purpose of achieving gender equity in intercollegiate athletic programs as authorized in (reference citation of all sections) unless the institution's plan has been approved by the higher education coordinating board.
(b) Beginning in the 1999-2000 academic year, an institution that did not provide, by June 30, 2000, athletic opportunities for an historically underrepresented gender class at a rate that meets or exceeds the current rate at which that class participates in high school athletics in (name of state) state shall have a new institutional plan approved by the higher education coordinating board before granting further waivers.
(c) Beginning in the 2002 academic year, an institution of higher education that was not within five percent of the ratio of undergraduates described in Sec. 4 (2) of (reference citation of all sections) by June 30, 2002, shall have a new plan for achieving gender equity in intercollegiate athletic programs approved by the higher education coordinating board before granting further waivers.
(3) The plan shall include, but not be limited to :
(a) For any institution with an historically underrepresented gender class described in subsection (2)(b) of this section, provisions that ensure that by July 1, 2000, the institution shall provide athletic opportunities for the underrepresented gender class at a rate that meets or exceeds the current rate at which that class participates in high school interscholastic athletics in (name of state) state not to exceed the point at which the underrepresented gender class is no longer underrepresented;
(b) For any institution with an underrepresented gender class described in subsection (2) (c) of this section, provisions that ensure that by July 1, 2002, the institution will have reached substantial proportionality in its athletic programs;
(c) Activities to be undertaken by the institution to increase participation rates of any underrepresented gender class in interscholastic and intercollegiate athletics. These activities may include, but are not limited to: Adding teams, sponsoring equity conferences, coaches clinics and sports clinics; and taking a leadership role in working with athletic conferences to reduce barriers to participation by those gender classes in interscholastic and intercollegiate athletics;
(d) An identification of barriers to achieving and maintaining equitable intercollegiate athletic opportunities for men and women; and
(e) Measures to achieve institutional compliance with the provisions of (reference citation of all sections)
Sec. 3
(1) The higher education coordinating board shall report every two years, beginning December 1998, to the governor and the house of representatives and senate committees on higher education, on institutional efforts to comply with the requirements of (reference citation of all sections). Each report shall include recommendations on measures taken to assist institutions with compliance efforts.
(2) Before the board makes its report in December 2000, the board shall assess the extent of institutional compliance with the requirements of (reference citation of all sections).
Sec. 4
(1) As used in and for the limited purposes of Sec. 1 through Sec. 5 (reference citation of all sections) "underrepresented gender class" means female students or male students, where the ratio of participation of female or male students who are seventeen to twenty-four year old undergraduates enrolled full-time on the main campus, respectively, in intercollegiate athletics has historically been less than approximately the ratio of female to male students or male to female students, respectively, enrolled as undergraduates at an institution.
(2) As used in and for the limited purpose of Section 2-(3)-(a) of (reference citation of all sections), an "underrepresented gender class" in interscholastic athletics means female students or male students, where the ratio of participation of female or male students, respectively, in K-12 interscholastic athletics has historically been less than approximately their ratio of female to male students or male to female students, respectively, enrolled in K-12 public schools in (name of state)
(3) As used in and for the limited purposes (reference citation of all sections), "equitable' means that the ratio of female and male students participating in intercollegiate athletics is substantially proportionate to the percentages of female and male students who are seventeen to twenty-four year old undergraduates enrolled full-time on the main campus.
Sec. 5
The executive director of the higher education coordinating board (or other appropriate title), in consultation with the council of presidents (or other appropriate entity) and the state board for community and technical colleges (or other appropriate entity), shall monitor the compliance by institutions of higher education with this chapter.
(1) The board shall establish a timetable and guidelines for compliance with this chapter.
(2) The board shall report every two years, beginning December 31, 1998, to the governor and the higher education committees of the house of representatives and the senate on institutional efforts to comply with this chapter. The report shall include recommendations on measures to assist institutions with compliance.
(3) The board may delegate to the state board for community and technical colleges any or all responsibility for community college compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
Sec. 6
This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety or support of the state governing and its existing public institutions and takes effect July 1, 20__.