Statement of Wade Henderson on the U.S. Department of Education???s Title IX Policy

“We commend the Department of Education today for moving to hold schools accountable for ensuring that women and girls are afforded equal opportunities to participate in sports.

The Department’s new compliance guidelines require that schools live up to the spirit of Title IX in prohibiting discrimination in athletics. They reverse the deeply flawed guidance the Department issued in 2005, which enabled schools to show compliance by doing little more than surveying students via email about their interest in athletic opportunities. Email surveys, often ensnared in SPAM filters, almost invariably produce very low response rates and unreliable information. The 2005 policy effectively allowed schools to shirk any responsibility for increasing athletic opportunities for women and girls.

Participation in sports improves student health and healthy behaviors like refraining from smoking and drug use. Research also shows that girls who play sports perform better academically and graduate at higher rates. 

Without providing equal opportunity to participate in sports, schools are not providing women and girls with a level playing field in education.