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DC Legislation Introduced: The Title IX Athletic Equity Act of 2013

23 Sep


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Margot Dorfman
Leadership Team
Posted: 9/23/2013
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From the National Women's Law Center

Last week, the D.C. Council unanimously introduced a bill requiring all D.C. public schools, including charters, to annually make public data on how they are allocating opportunities between boys and girls in sports. The Title IX Athletic Equity Act of 2013 would make sure parents and students have easy access to the information they need to ensure a level playing field. It would require schools to disclose a variety of information, including: sports participation numbers by gender and race, information on the condition of facilities and equipment, and funding sources and spending for boys' and girls' teams. 

Girls in D.C. currently have about 700 fewer opportunities to play sports than boys and also do not receive the same quality coaching or facilities that boys do, which is why the NWLC filed a complaint with the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights this past summer. Because high schools don't have to disclose athletics data as colleges do, we were forced to get the information for our complaint by filing Freedom of Information Act requests — a process that is long, tedious and resulted in incomplete information. 

So this bill is definitely a step in the right direction. 

But now we need to get this bill moving! Please help us by making a quick phone call to the Council's Committee on Education.
  1. Call (202) 724-8061.
  2. When you get someone on the phone, say: "Hi my name is ____________ and I'm a constituent. I would like to urge Chairman Catania to hold a hearing on the Title IX Athletic Equity Act of 2013. The District has a long history of not treating girls' fairly in sports and this bill would help shine a light on the work that remains to be done."
Making data publicly available to parents and students allows communities to evaluate how their schools are treating girls in sports and to advocate for change. 

This much-needed legislation will provide communities with information on how their schools are treating girls in sports and help them advocate for change. 

Please call (202) 724-8061 and tell Chairman Catania that this bill is important for D.C. girls! 
Tags: DC, legislation, title IX, girls, equality, sports
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