Through a letter expressing support for maintaining current law, the Department of Education announced today they will NOT make any changes to Title IX. Title IX is the landmark 1972 law providing women and girls equal opportunity in education and athletics. After hearing from thousands of women and men, girls and boys, the Department of Education and the Bush administration backed down from their original goals/intentions of changing Title IX and instead announced their support of Title IX and acknowledged that, "nothing in Title IX requires the cutting or reduction of teams in order to demonstrate compliance with Title IX." The Department of Education also offered technical assistance to schools regarding enforcement of Title IX policies. This announcement puts to rest all of the uncertainty that has come up this past year since a Commission was established to study Title IX.

Last June, the Department of Education set up the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics to study and make recommendations to the enforcement mechanism of Title IX law related to athletics. The Commission's report produced harmful recommendations that would have severely altered and undermined the athletics provisions of Title IX. Following the Commission's report, many expressed outrage at the proposed changes. For example, a minority report from two Commissioners was submitted to the Commission expressing concern that their voice in support of Title IX was not adequately represented in the final report. Also, representatives and senators joined together to introduce bipartisan resolutions in both chambers supporting Title IX and urging no changes be made to the law.

Recently, Title IX received additional support with an important legal victory when a judge dismissed the wrestlers' claims in their case against the Department of Education. The court acknowledged that Title IX was a landmark civil rights statute and said that the wrestlers failed to show that Title IX was the reason their teams were being dropped. Further, the decision stated that even if Title IX were altered, their teams would not be reinstated. The court further stated that Title IX's policies provide schools with flexibility to decide how to structure their athletics programs, and that many factors go into these decisions, aside from equal opportunity principles.

While the organizations that have been working to protect Title IX are happy with the Department of Education's announcement, it is troubling that this Commission was even formed in the first place. While AAUW is extremely pleased with the Department of Education's reaffirmation of their support for Title IX, what will truly demonstrate the Bush administration's commitment to Title IX and gender equity is the enforcement of Title IX policies. To read AAUW's statement about this announcement click here

It CANNOT be stressed enough that this good news about Title IX would not have happened without the thousands of phone calls, e-mails, and letters that YOU have sent to President Bush, Secretary of Education Rod Paige, and members of Congress, expressing support for Title IX. Because of YOUR efforts to protect Title IX, the administration could not ignore the strong sentiment from the American people.

Congratulations on this important victory!