HEADLINE:
Proposal to revamp Title IX focuses on 'proportionality'
BYLINE: Erik Brady
DATELINE:
PHILADELPHIA
BODY: PHILADELPHIA --
The commission looking into Title IX served notice Wednesday that it plans to
ask for major changes in how the federal law is regulated, including a
recalculation of the controversial "proportionality" litmus test.
The Commission on Opportunity in Athletics
will give a report to Education Secretary Rod Paige by Jan. 31. The 15-member
panel, largely college administrators, discussed possible recommendations for
the first time Wednesday. Many involved giving schools more flexibility in how
they count male and female athletes under a facet of the law known as
proportionality, which says a school's athletes should be proportional to the
men and women enrolled.
Commission
co-chair Ted Leland proposed colleges be allowed to count "opportunities." In
his example, men's and women's soccer would have 30 opportunities. If walk-ons
swelled the men's roster to 40 and only 20 women came out, a school could count
that as 30 men and 30 women.
Some other
proportionality proposals have a close-is-good-enough tone that could ultimately
make it easier for schools to comply with the law.
One recommendation included a "7% solution" by which schools would be
allowed a variance of 7% in figuring proportionality. In one example, a school
that had 43% female athletes would be in compliance. The current variance is
roughly 1%-3%.
"I think we may be headed
toward sweeping changes in the enforcement of Title IX," said
Leland, athletics director at Stanford. "This could potentially change the way .
. . universities do business."
The
recommendations will be refined and the commission will vote on them Jan. 8 in
Washington. Paige can choose to implement recommendations, or some form of them,
or ignore them. He named the commission in June, when the federal law that
prohibits sex discrimination at schools that receive federal funds turned 30.
Document 5 of 67. 