Need to report a Title IX violation? A new guide just made it easier. Here's what to know.
The federal Education Department wants you to know how to spot whether school sports teams are violating sex discrimination laws.
The department, which published guides for students, parents, athletic directors and coaches late last week, shared how they can report suspected violations to school athletic directors or Title IX officers, or directly to the Office for Civil Rights. The agency's job is to investigate Title IX complaints across the nation's schools.
The move comes ahead of the NCAA college basketball tournament, which will play out starting next month.
What happens if a school doesn’t comply with Title IX? Not a whole lot.
Why does the Education Department want to help people catch violations?
The department is concerned that there are still discrepancies in how different genders are treated in K-12 and college athletic programs despite Title IX provisions ensuring equity in sports.
A USA TODAY analysis last year found that schools are finding ways around Title IX laws, including "counting male practice partners," "double and triple counting athletes" and "padding rowing rosters."
"For over 50 years, Title IX has dramatically increased athletic opportunities for generations of girls and women," one of the new resource sheets for students and families reads.
Title IX was intended to close the gender gap in college athletics: But schools are rigging the numbers.
"Despite this progress, girls and women across the country continue to face pervasive barriers in sports, from unequal funding, resources, and coaching for girls' and women’s sports teams to worse facilities, sex-based harassment on and off the field, and fewer scholarship opportunities," it continues.
The guidance does not say anything about transgender or nonbinary students.
More: A wave of anti-LGBTQ laws for schools in red states has Biden administration weighing a response
What does the resource sheet say?
The resource sheet explains how federally funded schools are obligated under Title IX to provide equal opportunity in their athletics programs based on sex, including "the benefits, opportunities, and treatment given to boys and girls teams" and "how a school is meeting students’ athletic interests and abilities."
And it shows how to report concerns about those opportunities, and whom to report them to. "This resource ... may help you evaluate whether your school’s athletic program is providing equal opportunity consistent with Title IX," one of the resource sheets says.
Biden administration will release new Title IX rules in May: What to expect.
What are some ways schools could violate Title IX when it comes to athletics?
Some of the examples the Education Department shared include:
"The men’s teams at a college receive new athletic apparel and gear each year, while the women’s teams must use old apparel and purchase some of their own equipment";
"Across its entire athletic program, a college awards disproportionately more athletic financial assistance to men than women"; and
"At a high school, the boys’ baseball team plays on a turf field of excellent quality. But the girls’ softball team plays on a poorly maintained grass field, which has holes and drainage problems. The girls’ softball field also lacks proper fencing and lighting needed for evening practices and games."
More: As US celebrates 50 years of Title IX, a new bill aims to improve gender equity in sports
Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kaylajjimenez.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Title IX: New resource to catch violators comes before NCAA tournament
