🎉 🎂     Happy 44th birthday to ‪‎Title IX‬!   🎂 🎉

Pop quiz! In which of the following areas does Title IX help ensure gender equity?

A. Fairness in school admissions
B. Access to athletics
C. Protection from sexual harassment and sexual assault
D. Opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)
E. All of the above

If you answered E, you are correct! 

Many people think that Title IX exclusively addresses gender equity in school athletics, but the law has a much broader focus.

Signed into law on June 23, 1972, Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program or activity — public or private — when it comes to receiving federal funds.

The law applies to every aspect of educational activities from preschool through higher education, including admissions, recruitment, academics, employment, athletics, and student services. 

Title IX is widely recognized for its role in the huge growth of women’s athletic programs, but imagine if we made as much progress inthe other aspects Title IX covers as we have with sports.

That women and girls still face discrimination on campus is why it’s so important to spread the word that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights recently released three sorely needed tools: a letter to schools reiterating the importance of Title IX coordinators, a thank-you letter directly to coordinators reaffirming their roles, and a free resource manual to guide their actions. Every school is required to appoint a Title IX coordinator to help prevent discrimination at her or his school, but before now the coordinators had few resources to do their jobs. And many schools haven’t appointed a coordinator at all.

The Office for Civil Rights has provided schools and Title IX coordinators with resources they need to independently act and address complaints, just in time for school to start. But we need you to help spread the word.