Support Equal Opportunity in Education—Sign Up for Title IX Athletics Town Hall Meetings

October 9, 2002

Attention, Title IX supporters: Check below for hearings in your area and how you can participate.

In the San Diego/Los Angeles area:

Register today for the November Title IX Town Hall Meeting in San Diego! Send your request to speak to OpportunityinAthletics@ed.gov or fax to (202) 260-4560.

Location: to be announced
Times: Nov. 20 and 21: specific times to be announced

The Commission on Opportunity in Athletics regional meeting in San Diego will be held on November 20-21, with public comments allowed. We need you to make your voice heard in support of athletic opportunities for young women and girls. If you can make it, please sign up to speak immediately, as the slots are quickly filling up with Title IX opponents. When you register to speak, please indicate the nature of your comments; you may also register on site but may have less of a chance to offer your opinion. Length of time allowed will be three to five minutes. Additionally, plans are being made for related events around the San Diego meeting; more information can be obtained at the Women's Sports Foundation web site and by emailing Becky at blevin@mrss.com.

In the Colorado Springs area:

Plan to attend! There will be a Title IX regional meeting in Colorado Springs on Oct. 22-23. While the speakers list is already full, it is imperative that you attend the sessions and show support for Title IX and athletic programs for girls and women. Be sure to wear your NOW button or another symbol supporting Title IX.

Location: The Cheyenne Mountain Resort, 3225 Broadmoor Valley, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80906.
Times: Oct. 22: 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 2-5 p.m., Oct. 23: 9 a.m.-1 p.m

(Additional meetings will be held in Philadelphia on Dec. 4 and in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 8. The locations have not yet been specified.)

Background:

Bush Commission to "Study" Title IX Athletics

The Bush administration has set its sights on dismantling Title IX, the federal law that bans sex discrimination in public education and promotes equal education opportunities for women and girls in both academics and athletics. Title IX was adopted in 1972 and has had a profound effect on expanding athletic opportunities for girls and young women; and, among other things, has resulted in the dramatic increase of U.S. women winning Olympic honors. In addition, hundreds of thousands of girls are now able to participate in sports programs which were not previously offered because funding was heavily weighted in favor of male sports.

In June of this year, the administration appointed a 15-member commission to "study" Title IX athletics requirements. The Secretary of Education's Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, with both pro and con members, has begun holding regional "town hall meetings," with sessions already completed in Atlanta and Chicago in August and September. The focus of this effort is on athletics programs, but the Bush administration is also working to undermine Title IX requirements in academics.

While these meetings are being billed as opportunities for an even-handed voicing of opinion, there has been a clear anti-Title IX bias among the speakers at these meetings. That is why it is crucial that supporters of Title IX attend the upcoming meetings in San Diego and Colorado Springs. Speaker slots for the Colorado Town Hall meeting are already filled, but there is still time to sign up for providing comments at the San Diego meeting. We can help with your comments if you are selected to speak. Send your request to OpportunityinAthletics@ed.gov. Two final sessions will be held in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., but public comments will not be allowed at those meetings. However, anyone may attend and we would like to have a good turnout. Please let us know if you are able to attend any of the meetings.

More information:

If you are selected to present your comments at the meeting, please let the National NOW Action Center know that you will be testifying (email: govtrel@now.org) and whether you need assistance. Anyone can send written comments to the Department of Education (DoE); check the website for DoE, listed below, to get contact information.

For details on the U.S. Department of Education Secretary's Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, and on past town meetings, please see: http://www.ed.gov/inits/commissionsboards/athletics/

Several of our coalition partners have also posted fact sheets that may be helpful, including the Feminist Majority Foundation and the National Women's Law Center.

For other background information on protecting Title IX, please see:

• The University of Iowa's Gender Equity in Sports Project
• Women's Sports Foundation
• National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education (NCWGE)

As we celebrate the 30th year of the landmark Title IX legislation, we mourn the loss of one of its greatest champions, Representative Patsy Mink (D-Hawaii). Go to NOW's web page, In Memoriam: Patsy Mink, to read the many tributes to Patsy Mink and to add one of your own.