Title IX is the portion of the Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive any federal funds. In brief, Title IX states:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Title IX applies to any educational program in an institution that receives any federal funds, the majority of schools in this country, from elementary schools through colleges. Almost all private colleges, for example, are covered because they received federal funding through financial aid programs like the Pell grants.

If educational institutions are found to violate Title IX, their federal funding can be withdrawn. In all cases to date, however, institutions found to violate Title IX have agreed to specific plans to comply with the law rather than lose funding.

Download a PDF document explaining Title IX from the National Women's Law Center. Check it Out: Is the Playing Field Level for Women and Girls at Your School?

Read below, the most commonly asked questions about Title IX and athletics answered by and reprinted from the Women's Sports Foundation.

1. What is Title IX?

• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program or activity at any educational institution that is a recipient of federal funds.
• Athletics, drama, band and other extracurricular student activities are considered to be educational programs under this law.
• Title IX also prohibits all forms of sex discrimination in federally funded educational institutions, including sexual harassment, discrimination in admissions and counseling, discrimination against married or pregnant students, etc.

2. Which schools must comply with Title IX?

• Title IX applies to educational institutions that receive any federal funds — whether public or private. (There are very few private colleges but many private elementary and secondary schools that do not receive federal money.)
• Almost all private colleges are covered because they receive federal funding through federal financial aid programs used by their students. Many private elementary and secondary schools receive federal funding through various programs as well.

3. How is Title IX applied to athletics?
There are three basic parts of Title IX as it applies to athletics:

• Participation: requires that women be provided an equitable opportunity to participate in sports as men (not necessarily the identical sports but an equal opportunity to play).
• Scholarships: requires that female athletes receive athletic scholarship dollars proportional to their participation (e.g., if there are 100 male athletes/100 female athletes and a $200,000 scholarship budget, then the budget must be split $100,000 to men/$100,000 to women)
• Other Benefits: requires equal treatment in the provision of (1) equipment and supplies, (2) scheduling of games and practice times, (3) travel and daily allowance, (4) access to tutoring, (5) coaching, (6) locker rooms, (7) practice and competitive facilities, (8) medical and training facilities and services, (9) publicity and promotions, (10) recruitment of student athletes, and (11) support services.

4. Does Title IX require that equal dollars be spent on men’s and women’s sports?

• No. The only provision that requires that the same dollars be spent (proportional to participation) is “scholarships”. Otherwise, female athletes must receive equal “treatment” and “benefits”.
• The standard is one of “quality” rather than dollars spent. For example, if a school spends $700 outfitting a male football player, it does not have to spend $700 outfitting a female lacrosse player. However, male and female athletes must be provided with the same quality uniforms, and they must be replaced under the same circumstances.
• Unequal budgets can also affect the number of athletes on a team. Insufficient funds may not permit a coach to supply the necessary equipment, uniforms and travel costs to a large number of players. Such disparities may violate Title IX.

5. Does Title IX require identical athletic programs for males and females?

• No. Males and females can participate in different sports. Rather, Title IX requires that the athletic programs meet the interests and abilities of each gender.
• Under Title IX, one team is not compared to the same team in each sport. The Office for Civil Rights examines the total program afforded to male athletes and the total program afforded to female athletes and whether each program meets the standard of equal treatment.
• Title IX does not require that each team get exactly the same services and supplies. Rather, it requires that the men’s program and the women’s program receive the same level of service, facilities and supplies. Variations within the men’s program and within the women’s program are allowed.

6. Are most schools and colleges in compliance with Title IX?

• No. Current estimates are that 80% or more of all colleges and universities are not in compliance.
• At the high school level, financial data are unavailable. Participation data reveal that while female comprise 50% of the general student population, they receive only 39% of athletic program opportunities.
• Male athletes at the college level receive $179 million more than female athletes in athletics scholarships each year (1997 NCAA Gender-Equity Study)

7. Does Title IX apply to booster clubs and other types of (similar) support for athletic teams?

• Yes. If the school permits an individual or group to donate funds for the benefit of a specific gender or sport, it must also make sure that benefits and services are equivalent for both sexes.

8. Is any sport excluded from Title IX?

• No. All sports at an institution are included under Title IX.
• During the 1970s, there were four efforts to amend Title IX to exclude football, and each effort failed.

9. Should football be excluded from Title IX coverage?

• No. No sport should be excluded from Title IX compliance. Males are entitled to participate in the sports in which they have an interest, and females are entitled to participate in the sports in which they have an interest.
• The point is that if male athletes prefer to use 100 participation opportunities playing football, that’s fine. If female athletes prefer to use their 100 participation opportunities playing soccer, softball and field hockey, that’s fine too.

10. Does Title IX enforcement hurt football programs?

• No. Football programs already receive protection under Title IX as mandated by the Javits Amendment, which allows increased expenditures based on “the nature of a sport” (i.e., football uniforms and protective equipment cost more than uniforms in other sports).
• Some have argued for the exclusion of football from Title IX because it not only costs more to fund a football program, but it earns more money, which funds other sports. This is a myth. Among NCAA football programs in all competitive divisions, 81% spend more than they bring in and contribute nothing to other sport budgets. Even among Division I-A football programs, more than a third are running deficits in excess of $1 million per year.
• Affording special consideration to football would permit an economic justification for discrimination. This would allow an institution to say, “We’re sorry we can’t afford to give your daughter the same opportunity to play sports as your son because football needs more money.”

11. Does Title IX mandate decreases in opportunities for male athletes in order to provide increased opportunities for females to participate?

• No. Title IX’s purpose is to create the same opportunity and quality of treatment for female athletes as is afforded male athletes. The law does not require reductions in opportunities for male athletes.
• Some educational institutions have chosen to cut men’s non-revenue sports and maintained that this was necessary in order to comply with Title IX, thereby making women’s programs the easy scapegoat to blame for the loss of these men’s programs. However, it is the school’s choice to cut back in this unfortunate manner.
• Title IX is not to blame for school priorities that short-change men’s minor sports. During the 1980s, when few schools were expanding opportunities for women to play sports, men’s minor sports were being eliminated in order to spend more money on football and other men’s revenue-producing sports.
• Cutting men’s sports is not the intent of Title IX. The intent of Title IX is to bring treatment of the disadvantaged gender up to the level of the advantaged group.

12. Does Title IX require institutions to meet “quotas”?
No. Every institution has three options to meet the participation standard of Title IX, only one of which is to provide athletic participation opportunities in substantial proportion to each gender enrollment. They only need to meet one of the following:

• Option 1: Compare the ratio of male and female athletes to male and female undergraduates; if the resulting ratios are close, the school is probably in compliance with the participation standard.
• Option 2: Demonstrate that the institution has a history and continuing practice of program expansion for the underrepresented gender.
• Option 3: Demonstrate that the institution has already effectively accommodated the interests and abilities of the underrepresented gender.

13. Has Title IX increased female participation over the last 25 years?

• Yes. Since the passage of Title IX, increases in athletic participation for both males and females have occurred at both the high school and collegiate levels.
• In 1970, only 1 out of every 27 high school girls played varsity sports. Today, that figure is one in 2.5. Female high school participation increased from 294,015 in 1971 to 2,472,043 in 1997. College participation has more than tripled, from 31,000 to 128,208.
• Both male and female athletic participation made steep increases immediately after the passage of Title IX at the high school level. Men’s and women’s rises in participation have also followed a similar pattern at the collegiate levels. However, male athletes still receive twice the participation opportunities afforded female athletes.

14. Are females less interested in sports than males?

• No. There is no evidence suggesting girls are inherently less interested in sports than boys. We do know that at an early age (six to nine years old), they are equally as interested. However, participation opportunities decline sharply as girls get older.
• The participation rate of boys (twice that of girls) reflects the opportunities that are offered to them — not lack of interest on the part of girls.

15. How do I know if my school is in compliance with Title IX?

• Ask. Every school, by law, has to have a Title IX Coordinator. Find out who this person is and ask them about the school’s compliance. Title IX covers many areas, from participation numbers to quality of available coaching. If the school doesn’t have a Title IX Coordinator, report it to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education.
• At the high school level, find out if the school is accommodating the sports interests of both boys and girls. Are there programs not being offered for girls where there’s substantial interest to field a program? Compare the number of participation opportunities available to boys (not the number of teams but the actual number of players) to the number of opportunities for girls.
• At the college level, it’s become a little easier for anyone to find out if an institution is in compliance. In 1994, Congress passed the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA), which requires all institutions of higher education to report each year on athletic participation numbers, scholarships, program budgets and expenditures, and coaching salaries by gender. This information is to be made available to anyone in a timely fashion (1-2 weeks) upon request. Simply call the institution’s athletic department and request it. As it is broken down by gender, it’s easy to see whether an institution is being equitable.
• Grade your school at www.GeenaTakesAim.com

16. Who is responsible for enforcing Title IX?

• Schools and colleges are responsible for complying with federal law.
• The OCR is specifically charged with enforcing the law. Anyone can file an OCR complaint and the identity of the complaining party will be kept confidential.
• Courts — affected parties have the individual right to sue (courts may award damages).

17. What is the penalty for non-compliance with Title IX?

• The ultimate penalty for non-compliance is withdrawal of federal funds from the offending institution. Institutions may also be required by a court or the OCR to make changes in their programs and to pay damages to the students for their lost opportunities.
• Although most institutions are not in compliance with Title IX, no institution has lost any federal funds as a result of non-compliance with Title IX (Office for Civil Rights states that it does not have sufficient staff/budget to fully enforce Title IX). Institutions have had to pay substantial damages and attorneys’ fees in cases brought to court.

18. Are institutions prohibited from retaliating against persons who file Title IX complaints or lawsuits?

• Yes. Retribution is prohibited.
• However, there are many coaches of women’s teams who have complained about Title IX violations and who have not had their contracts renewed, ostensibly for other reasons.

19. The boys’ teams receive letter jackets from the booster club at the end of the year while the girls’ teams receive certificates from the school. Is this a Title IX violation?
Yes. If permission is given by the athletic director for an action or expenditure that benefits the boys’ programs, a similar benefit must be provided to the girls’ programs.

20. Is it a violation of Title IX when cheerleaders, pep squads and/or bands are provided for men’s athletic events but not for women’s athletics events?
Yes. Cheerleaders, pep squads and bands are considered publicity services. If they are provided for the men’s program, they must be provided for the women’s program.

21. Our high school girls play at 4:00 p.m. on Fridays, and the boys play at 7:00 p.m. on Fridays. Is this a violation of Title IX?

• Yes. Later times for games are more valued because parents, friends and spectators can attend.
• In order to comply with Title IX, many schools flip-flop early and late starting times for men’s and women’s teams.

22. Are there any legal grounds for reinstatement when a woman’s college drops its athletic program?
No, any academic or athletic program area can be dropped without legal recourse at a single sex institution. Similarly, if a public institution wants to drop both its men’s and women’s entire sport programs, that is permissible.

23. Can an established women’s athletic program be eliminated, and another one added?
If the institution is in compliance with Title IX participation requirements (i.e. percentage of female athletes is the same as the proportion of female students), it can replace an existing women’s team with a different women’s team. However, if female athletes are underrepresented, the school cannot eliminate any women’s sport until it comes into compliance. Thus when female athletes are underrepresented, the institution must continue to add women’s sports without eliminating existing women’s programs until the interests and abilities of underrepresented gender are met (as defined by the three-prong test of Title IX’s participation provision).

24. Can a former female athlete sue her institution for failure to provide past and current athletes equal opportunities? Can she file an official Office of Civil Rights complaint?
Yes, she can sue her institution as long as the suit involves a claim that there are damages. For example, the former athlete can sue her institution for past discrimination by arguing lost scholarship opportunities. However, she can only file an Office of Civil Rights complaint if it is within 180 days of alleged discrimination or 60 days from the last step in an internal grievance process.

25. Is Title IX becoming more accepted?
Title IX has widespread public support.
Wall Street Journal poll asked:
“Title IX is a federal law that prohibits high schools and colleges that receive federal funds from discriminating on the basis of gender. Title IX is most commonly invoked to ensure equal participation opportunities for girls and women in high school and college athletics. Do you approve or disapprove of Title IX as it is described here?”

The results were:

• Yes, approve of title IX, 79%
• No, do not approve of Title IX, 14%
• Do not know enough about it, 4%
• Not sure, 3%

“To comply with Title IX, many schools and universities have had to cut back on resources for men’s athletic programs and invest more in women’s athletic programs to make the programs more equal. Do you approve or disapprove of cutting back on men’s athletics to ensure equivalent athletic opportunities for women?”

• Yes, approve of cuts, 76%
• No, do not approve of cuts, 19%
• Not sure, 5%

(Source: NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll of 2,010 adults across the country from June 14-18, 2000; margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.)

26. Do you think there will be a time when we will not need Title IX? Do you want that time to come?
All civil rights laws are statements of social justice values on the part of society. The Civil Rights Act, Title IX and the Americans with Disabilities Act are all important laws that should remain on the books to protect the citizenry from anyone discriminating on the basis of race, gender or disability. They are both a protection and important statements of the values of our American society. They should remain as such, always in force, in case anyone ever doubts the commitment of our country to such values.

27. Is there anything about the current enforcement of Title IX that you would change?
While progress has been made, the majority of high schools and colleges are not in compliance with Title IX. The Office of Civil Rights does not enforce Title IX, which means that parents must go to the courts to have their daughters treated fairly. Over 50 Title IX cases have been brought to court in the past eight years, with the plaintiffs prevailing in every case. But not all parents can afford this remedy. A system has to be put in place where the Office of Civil Rights is more aggressively enforcing the law and providing a remedy for our daughters rather than forcing them into the courts. (Dec. 2000)

28. Do you think the enforcement of Title IX has changed much since 1972?
The Office of Civil Rights is doing far fewer investigations at its own initiation (6 in 2000; 2 in 2001), even as the number of high school and college complaints are significant (402 high school and 106 colleges over the past three years). Thus, more parents have started going to court because the Office of Civil Rights has not been effective. A greater number of cases are being brought to court and actually being litigated.

29. Many universities are still not in compliance with Title IX 30 years after it was passed, yet no institution has ever lost federal funding. Without proper manpower and resources, how can the Office of Civil Rights ever be expected to properly enforce Title IX?
Funds available for enforcement is not the issue. All the Office of Civil Rights would have to do is to send a clear message of its intent to enforce the law by starting the process for withdrawal of federal funds from one institution failing to comply with Title IX. Then all schools would fall into line and comply with Title IX. It would be a lot like the "death penalty" in football and its use on SMU one time and on no one else since. It is an important penalty.

30. Are there other methods of encouraging compliance besides pulling all federal dollars from a college?
Title IX is not an unusual law with regard to this penalty. This is how the government normally gives funds to schools, on the condition that they comply with federal laws. To suggest that athletics should be an exception from the norm is carrying the excesses in American sport to ludicrous extremes.

31. Does the Office of Civil Rights put as much emphasis on Title IX cases as it does on other types of civil rights violations such as race and disability discrimination?
We do not know the answer to this question. The only way to come up with an accurate answer would be to ask the Office of Civil Rights for information on the number of investigations it conducts in all three areas.

32. Do you think that men and women are equally interested in participating in sports? How does the Office of Civil Rights gauge the interests and abilities prong of compliance?
There is no research that shows that boys are more interested in sports than girls. There is research that shows that girls and boys and their parents are equally interested in playing sports at young ages. A combination of lack of opportunity to play (no teams), lack of peer group support when they do play sports and lack of encouragement causes girls to drop out of sports at a rate that is six times greater than boys. Assessing interest is not a Title IX requirement, meeting interest is, and this is an important distinction. If a school does not meet the proportionality option (percentage of females and males participating in sport equals percentage of females and males attending the school or college), and does not meet the second option of demonstrating that it has regularly increased participation opportunities for the underrepresented gender over time, the school can demonstrate that its sports program is already meeting the interest and abilities of its students. It can demonstrate this by showing that there are no sports clubs on campus or other groups of female athletes who are requesting varsity athletic opportunities, or that it is already offering a broad array of sports for women that reflects the participation interests of girls in that state or school district, or it can add a sport in which there appears to be interest and show that females do not come out for the sport.

33. Is the proportionality prong fair to men?
It is definitely fair to both genders because it applies to either gender if they are similarly situated as the underrepresented population and because it is not a requirement of Title IX, it is only an option. It was designed to be a quick mathematical assessment that would enable schools to easily say they are in compliance with the law. If a school does not meet proportionality, it can choose the other two options to indicate compliance. The second option, adding a sport every two-three years, is one of the weakest civil rights standards in existence, tantamount to demonstrating that a school is “trying," which is a very liberal requirement. The reason that schools are objecting to the proportionality requirement is that they have disregarded the requirement of the law for 20 years, ignored female club sports for varsity status, and thus, put themselves in the position of being unable to take advantage of either the “gradually adding teams” option or the “prove you have met interest” option. They forced themselves into a corner by not taking advantage of the most liberal ways to comply and are now arguing that the most difficult way to comply is too onerous.

34. Does Title IX enforce a quota? Is a quota necessarily a bad thing?
Title IX’s requirement that an institution should accommodate female students as well as it accommodates male students does not require quotas. The so-called “proportionality standard” is only one of three independent tests of compliance in the areas of participation and the other two are not numerical. A requirement is a “quota” when you must use a mathematical requirement. Title IX does not require that a school use the proportionality standard.