Title IX was written to ensure equal opportunities for women and men in educational facilities. Despite the law’s good intentions, the Office of Civil Rights transformed the nature of the law, with the focus moving from ensuring equal opportunities to equal outcomes.

That’s because Title IX’s proportionality requirement is the only compliance method with a quantitative test that can protect schools from litigation. This requirement means the number of slots on athletic rosters and the number of athletic scholarships must be in proportion to the number of male and female students. So, for example, schools that are 70 percent female face a requirement that 70 percent of their athletes be female as well.

Title IX applies to all educational programs, but athletic programs have been impacted the most. Many colleges and universities across the country have resorted to eliminating men’s sports teams without adding or expanding programs for women. Unfortunately, this has been particularly harmful to historically black colleges and universities, which are predominantly female.

Check out our “Takeaways” document below to learn more about these problems and how we can reform the guidance that has been given on Title IX so that the statute accomplishes its original goal. 

Title IX & Athletics by Independent Women's Forum