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YEARS AFTER TITLE IX: HOW FAR HAS FLORIDA
COME AS COMPARED TO THE NATION...AND
ARE WE ALL STILL PROGRESSING?
Written
by: Coury
Knowles, Oviedo HS and Valencia
Community College, Orlando Florida,
and Christine
Stopka, University of Florida
This article is a summary
of Coury Knowles' complete
article of the same title
PURPOSE: The purpose
of this study was to compare the Title
IX compliance trends of high school
sports in Florida over the past two
decades (1985-2005) against national
trends.
ISSUES: Title IX is
all about quest for equitable opportunity
in sports. It involves the physiological,
sociological, and psychological benefits
of sports and physical activity participation.
Yet compared to boys, girls enjoyed
30% fewer opportunities to participate
in high school and college sports and
are twice as likely inactive. Put simply,
a large gap still exists between the
current status of women and girls in
sports and the ultimate goal of Title
IX.
The rationale for this study was based
on several criteria. First, it was important
to justify why the state of Florida
was chosen to compare to the nation.
Second, it was important to justify
why high school sports were examined.
Third, it was important to justify why
it was determined that the 20 year period
(1985-2005) was used in the study as
a parameter instead of another timetable
to guide the study.
The present study is of potential significance
for athletic administrators and coaches
in the form of professional growth.
Professional growth is possible through
examination of Title IX compliance trends
in high school sports. Athletic administrators
and coaches will realize that the influence
of their actions and decisions can either
eliminate or foster gender-based discrimination
in sport. Put simply, Title IX would
have been unnecessary had people truly
valued females’ participation
in sport.
The landmark event in equal opportunity
for girls and women in sport occurred
in 1972 when Congress passed the Education
Amendments Act (Lumkin,
et. al., 1994). Title IX of this
Act stipulated that schools and colleges
could not discriminate in the educational
programs, including athletics
(Lumpkin, Stoll, & Beller, 1995).
Title IX was designed to be a strong
and comprehensive measure to tackle
all forms of the discrimination (NAGWS,
2002). In doing so, Title IX
was meant to open the doors to educational
opportunities formerly closed to women
and girls, providing avenues to enhance
their economic futures (NAGWS,
2002). Title IX was the nation's
promise for ensuring that the talents
of half of our citizens, women, no longer
would be constricted by discrimination
(NAGWS, 2002).
Before Title IX, schools limited the
participation of women and girls. Many
colleges and professional schools had
quotas limiting the number of women
who could participate (NAGWS,
2002). Female athletics generally
consisted of cheerleading (NAGWS,
2002). With exception of black
colleges and universities this review
showed that virtually no college offered
women athletic scholarships (NAGWS,
2002). Even high school boys
were prohibited from taking home economics
and girls from taking vocational classes
such as auto mechanics (NAGWS,
2002). Female elementary and
secondary school teachers left their
jobs when they married or became pregnant,
and pregnant and parenting students
frequently were forced to drop out (NAGWS,
2002).
Title IX revolutionized athletic opportunities
for women (Donnelly,
Kilkelly, & Berman, 2007).
The following events had to take place
before this was the case. According
to Donnelly, Kilkelly, & Berman
(2007), 295,000 high school girls played
sports compared to 3,600,000 high school
boys in 1971. On June 23, 1972, Title
IX was enacted by Congress and signed
into law by President Nixon.
OVERVIEW:
This study analyzed three variables:
Male and female participants in Florida
high school sports; national numbers
of male and female participants in high
school sports; and enrollment figures
of high schools in Florida and the nation.
The numbers of male and female participants
in Florida high school sports were gathered
from the Florida High School Activities
Association (FHSAA). The national numbers
of male and female participants in high
school sports were collected from the
National Federation of State High School
Associations (NFHSA). The enrollment
figures of high schools in Florida and
the nation were accessed from the FHSAA
and the United States Census Bureau,
Statistical Abstract of the United
States, 2007. All the statistics
gathered concerned the years 1985 through
2005.
From 1985-2005, the range of Florida
high school female athletes (R=53,198)
to male athletes (R=38,005) increased
approximately 15,200; however, the range
of National high school female athletes
to male athletes decreased about 600,000.
In terms of female enrollment (R=270,606)
to male enrollment (R=176,023), the
range for Florida increased roughly
95,000 in 20 years; nevertheless, the
National range of female enrollment
(R=2,200,000) to male enrollment (R=2,400,000)
decreased by 200,000 during the same
period. These facts illustrate Florida
has experienced greater growth from
1985 to 2005 in providing high school
female athletic opportunities and female
enrollment compared to the nation.
The nation was furthest from Title
IX compliance in 1985-1986 (proportions
differed by 14.2%). A gradual increase
in Title IX trends was also evident
in the nation from 1990-1997. The nation
experienced a similar leveling off of
proportions from 1997-2005 (difference
ranging from 7.5% to 9%). Finally, the
linear trend of the Title IX ratios
for the State of Florida. From 1985-1989,
the State of Florida was behind the
nation only 4.5%-6.4%.
Then in 1989-1990, the nation increased
more than 13% above the State of Florida.
The female athletes’ proportion
to total athletic opportunities quickly
dropped from 43.7% to 35.7% in 1990-1991
for the nation. From 1991-1997, the
nation hovered between 35%-40%, while
Florida lingered between 32%-39% at
the same time. The State of Florida
surpassed the nation in the ratio of
female athletes to total athletic opportunities
from 1997-2001. In 2001-2003, the nation
over took Florida again. Lastly, 2003-2005
saw the State of Florida and the nation
each occupy the top spot in their proportion
of female athletes to total athletic
opportunities in 2003-2004 and 2004-2005,
respectfully.
The State of Florida surpassed the
nation in the ratio of female athletes
to total athletic opportunities from
1997-2001, signified by the crossing
of the national line by the State of
Florida line on the graph. In 2001-2003,
the nation over took Florida again,
shown by the crossing of the State of
Florida line by the national line on
the graph. In 2003-2005 the State of
Florida and the nation each occupy the
top spot in their proportion of female
athletes to total athletic opportunities
in 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, respectfully;
the State of Florida and the national
lines show a small variation. The difference
for 2003-2005 was minimal (.2%-.3%)
so the two lines appear to be on top
of each other.
From 1985-1987, the nation superseded
Florida by 16% in their enrollment ratios
each year. 1987 through1995 saw the
Florida and national high school female
enrollment proportion to total enrollments
basically the same (hovering between
48%-50%). In 1995-1998, the State of
Florida experienced a greater ratio
of high school female enrollment to
total enrollments. Interestingly, in
1998-1999 the female enrollment proportions
were equal at 49.4%. From 1999 to 2002,
Florida and the nation each experienced
a year of enrollment superior, respectfully.
The last few years studied (2003-2005)
showed Florida and national high school
female enrollment proportion to total
enrollments basically the same (floating
around 50%).
ANALYSIS:
The Title IX compliance trends from
1985-2005 confirmed that the range of
Florida high school female athletes
to male athletes increased 15,200. The
national high school female athletes
to male athletes range decreased about
600,000. For female enrollment to male
enrollment the range for Florida improved
by 95,000 in 20 years. Nationally during
the same period, the range of female
enrollment to male enrollment declined
by 200,000. The sum, the mean, the standard
deviation, and the variance of athletic
participation and enrollment figures
(see Table 5) also illustrated boosts
in Florida and reductions in the nation.
In the end, Florida has experienced
greater growth from 1985 to 2005 in
providing high school female athletic
opportunities and female enrollment
compared to the nation.
The State of Florida was behind the
nation from 1985-1989. The nation improved
to more than 13% above the State of
Florida in 1989-1990. The next year,
1990-1991, female athletes’ proportion
to total athletic opportunities quickly
dropped from 43.7% to 35.7% for the
nation. The nation hovered between 35%-40%,
while Florida lingered between 32%-39%
during 1991-1997. The State of Florida
surpassed the nation in the ratio of
female athletes to total athletic opportunities
from 1997-2001. In 2001-2003, the nation
increased in numbers over Florida again.
Then, 2003-2005 saw the State of Florida
and the nation each occupy the top spot
in their proportion of female athletes
to total athletic opportunities in 2003-2004
and 2004-2005, respectfully.
With respect to the research questions
associated with the study, the results
indicated there was no significant difference
between national Title IX compliance
trends and Florida Title IX compliance
trends in high school sports during
1985 through 2005. In fact, there was
widespread non-compliance with the substantial
proportionality prong of Title IX, with
some improvements in compliance over
time.
In a country devoted to democratic
principles of fairness, tolerance, equality,
freedom, and justice, the fulfillment
of the legal mandate and societal imperative
embodied in Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 would seem, on the
surface, to be within reach
(Cozzillio & Hayman, 2005).
After all, the provision that “no
person in the United States shall be
on the basis of sex, be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits
of, or be subjected to discrimination
under any education program or activity
receiving Federal assistance,”
resonates with those ideals most Americans
hold dear (Cozzillio
& Hayman, 2005).
The challenges and imperfections associated
with any democracy emerge when citizens
confront the task of upholding the very
ideals they believe central to their
identity as a people and the country
they call home (Cozzillio
& Hayman, 2005). Although
fundamental principles of equality ought
not to inspire controversy, nevertheless
in “the land of the free,”
debates about the meaning of equality
flow, sometimes is nothing more than
a disturbing undercurrent, at other
times in the form of full-blown debates
and disputes that take place in the
media, in the courts, in schools and
in our institutions of government
(Cozzillio & Hayman, 2005).
Despite the realization of equality,
thirty-five years after the passage
of Title IX, society erupts in controversy
at the thought of Title IX enforcement.
In June of 2002, a reverse discrimination
case was brought against the US Department
of Education by the National Wrestling
Coaches Association and other men’s
minor sport groups came to an end with
the establishment of Title IX enforcement
guidelines. These enforcement guidelines
came out of the Commission on Opportunity
in Athletics created by President Bush’s
Secretary of Education, Rod Paige. The
Commission called for a review of Title
IX policy interpretation. Even with
policy revisions, not one institution
has had its federal funding withdrawn
because it is in violation of Title
IX. Consequently, many girls and women
still confront sex discrimination in
their education programs.
DISCUSSION and CONCLUSION
With respect to the research questions
associated with the study, the results
indicated there was no significant difference
between national Title IX compliance
trends and Florida Title IX compliance
trends in high school sports during
1985 through 2005. In fact, there was
widespread non-compliance with the substantial
proportionality prong of Title IX, with
some improvements in compliance over
time.
These results clearly indicate that
despite improvements over time, gender
inequalities in intercollegiate athletic
opportunities exist in the vast majority
of institutions. The outcomes from this
study are comparable to intercollegiate
athletics, which also demonstrated widespread
non-compliance trends with the substantial
proportionality prong of Title IX, with
some improvements in compliance over
time.
Several recommendations for further
research have resulted from the findings
of the present study. First, it is not
obvious that equalizing up is the optimal
strategy to comply with Title IX. It
is not always preferable to replace
some male athletic opportunities with
female athletic opportunities. The answer
depends upon the cost to fund new women's
teams. The money must come from somewhere;
men's athletics seems just as good a
source of these funds as dollars that
are spent on other important educational
activities like need-based financial
aid or expanded library and computing
resources, for example.
Secondly, an institution’s female
share of enrollment is a major determinant
of its compliance with substantial proportionality.
The “one size fits all”
formula to calculate substantial proportionality
creates problems at extreme values of
the female portion of students. This
fact is exacerbated by the history of
gender inequality in sports. Recall
that Smucker, & Whisenant indicated
earlier, women accounted for a mere
8% of high school student athletes before
1972. Thus, resulting in institutions
with a higher share of women in their
student body facing much larger proportionality
gaps once Title IX was implemented.
The results from the present study illustrate
most high schools in Florida and around
the nation have yet to adjust their
athletic offerings to eliminate proportionality
gaps.
Finally, the present study’s
findings discovered that Title IX has
been a major catalyst in changing the
image of modern women. Growing attention
is being paid to the “athletic
girl,” a striking symbol of modern
womanhood. These feminine ideals have
disregarded traditional gender arrangements
of the past. To that end, Title IX is
arguably the most successful civil rights
statute in history. Rather than trying
to curtail the reach of a successful
civil rights statute, administrators’
time would be better spent addressing
the ways in which less successful ones
still don't work. Why is it that the
same number of women who are sexually
harassed in the workplace today as 20
years ago, despite Title VII that apparently
prohibits sexual harassment? And why
are women and minorities still not adequately
represented in top positions in American
companies? Pressing anti-discrimination
questions, such as these, should be
the focus of future research.
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