The Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center’s Title IX K-12 Equality Project Elizabeth Kristen, Esq. Tamika L. Butler, E

1. FAIR PLAY FOR GIRLS IN SPORTS The Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center’sTitle IX K-12 Equality ProjectElizabeth Kristen, Esq.Tamika L. Butler, Esq. Presentation at AAUW California Convention

2. LAS-ELC Background • Non-profit legal aid organization • Founded in 1916 • Title IX K-12 Equality Project since 2003 • Focuses on access to athletics for young women and girls • Utilizes negotiation and litigation techniques • Also provides technical assistance re State and Federal legislation • Community education

3. AAUW: Know the ScoreTitle IX Program in a Box • Launched 2009 • On the web at: • http://www.aauw.org/act/laf/library/TitleIXCompliance.cfm • http://www.las-elc.org/work-gender-equity.html

4. Fair Play in Sports Project Background • 2011 Grant from John and Terry Levin and the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of California • Goal: To advance the promise of Title IX and AB 2404 for poor girls in grades K–12 • Will employ a multi-pronged approach of: • Public education • Policy advocacy • Technical assistance • Strategic litigation. • Will focus on low-income and minority girls

5. The Laws

6. Title IX • Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 • 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 education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance

7. What does Title IX Mean for Athletics? • Equal Participation Opportunities for Females • Equal Treatment and Benefits for Females • No Retaliation

9. AB2404 in California • Signed in 2004 • Requires equity in Parks and Recreation programs in California • Uses Title IX-like standards: participation opportunities and equal treatment & benefits • Has been essentially unenforced

10. Parks and Recreation • The law’s definition of “parks and recreation facilities and resources” includes all of the following: • Park facilities • Athletic fields • Courts • Gymnasiums • Recreational rooms • Restrooms, • Concession stands • Storage spaces • This definition also includes resources “used to promote athletic activities, such as scoreboards, banners, and advertising, and all moneys used in conjunction with youth athletics.”

11. Benefits of Sports

12. Title IX • Before Title IX, fewer than 295,000 girls participated in high school athletics • In 2010-11 that number increased to 3,173,549 • Nationally, girls are 49% of high school students but just 41% of high school athletes

13. Educational Benefits • Girls who participate in sports receive better grades and more likely to graduate • The correlation is particularly strong for minority girls who participate in sports • At the collegiate level, female students who receive sports scholarships graduate at higher rates than female students generally • To receive a scholarship students must acquire the necessary skills and discipline at the elementary and high school levels

14. Health Benefits • Girls who were also athletes were half as likely to become pregnant than girls who were not athletes. Early childbearing is a common cause of school dropout for girls, and is a strong predictor of female poverty • Girls who participate in sports possess higher self-esteem

15. Employment Benefits • Sports teams provide girls with opportunity for leadership, teamwork, and competition • Girls who participate in high school sports are more likely than non-athletes to “aspire to be leaders in their communities as adults” • A nationwide random poll of 401 senior women business executives was conducted in December 2001. More than eighty percent reported that they played organized sports after grammar school

16. 2010 Betsey Stevenson Study Beyond the Classroom: Using Title IX to Measure the Return to High School Sports.

17. Betsey Stevenson Study • NBER Working Paper February 2010. • 10% increase in sports for girls => 1% increase college for women • 10% increase in sports for girls =>1-2% increase in labor force participation for women • Being a HS athlete => 8% higher wages for women

18. 2011 Women’s Sports Foundation Study Progress Without Equity: The Provision of High School Athletic Opportunity in the United States by Gender 1993-94 through 2005-06

19. Percentage of Athletic Participation Opportunities that U.S. High Schools Provided to Girls and Boys 51 47 45 39 36 31

20. Key Points • The November 2011 Study Found: • The lowest percentage of athletic participation opportunities occurred in urban schools • The percentage of athletic participation opportunities was highest for both girls and boys in the Northeast, followed closely by the Midwest • The fewest number of athletic participation opportunities exist in the South

21. Case Study Ollier v. Sweetwater Class Action Complaint filed April 2007

22. Background • Castle Park High School fired the girls’ beloved softball coach when a parent complained about inequality for female athletes at the school. • After negotiations with the school failed, Legal Aid, along with co-counsel, brought a class action to challenge unequal facilities and participation opportunities, as well as the alleged retaliation. • Though Title IX was enacted in 1972, this was the first case brought to trial against a high school for denying female athletes equal treatment in sports programs. The Castle Park High School population is 83% Latino.

24. Softball FieldSeptember 27, 2006

25. 9/4/07

26. Baseball FieldSeptember 4, 2007

28. Softball OutfieldMay 9, 2008

29. Softball Outfield Looking Towards Left Field with Removable FencingApril 30, 2009

30. Softball Infield Grassline and OutfieldMay 13, 2010

31. Baseball Field InfieldMay 13, 2010

32. Back of Third Base Baseball DugoutMay 9, 2008

33. Close Up of “Home” Stenciled on Softball Dugout RoofApril 30, 2009

35. Day 1 of Trial Courtroom

36. Trial Begins • September 14, 2010 • Judge M. James Lorenz • U.S. District Court, San Diego • Set for 8 trial days • Trial lasts for 10 trial days over 3 weeks • Counsel from LAS-ELC, CWLC and Manatt • Findings of fact and conclusions of law submitted December 13, 2010

37. Day 1 of Trial Elizabeth Kristen & Veronica Ollier

38. Day 1 of Trial Erin Witkow, Elizabeth Kristen, Veronica Ollier, Vicky Barker, Cacilia Kim

39. Post Trial Victory!

40. Judge’s Order • Issued February 9, 2012 • Cited a recent 7th circuit case Parker regarding the importance of athletics for young women. • Also cites the lasting effects of discrimination • “[E]qual athletic treatment is not a luxury. It is not a luxury to grant equivalent benefits and opportunities to women. It is not a luxury to comply with the law. Equality and justice are not luxuries.”

41. Judge’s Findings • Female athletes at Castle Park had inferior conditions in every category and did not receive equitable treatment or benfits • Retaliation by firing of coach • No mention of cost • Declaratory relief • Injunctive relief • Monitoring and continuing jurisdiction • “As a result of systemic administrative failures at CPHS, female athletes have received unequal treatment and benefits before and during the time this action was pending.”

42. 3/7/12 Post Trial Site Visit Football Weight Room

43. 3/7/12 Post Trial Site Visit Football Weight Room

44. 3/7/12 Post Trial Site Visit Softball Bullpen

45. 3/7/12 Post Trial Site Visit New Baseball Clubhouse

46. 3/7/12 Post Trial Site Visit New Baseball Clubhouse

47. 3/7/12 Post Trial Site Visit Baseball Concessions

48. 3/7/12 Post Trial Site Visit Baseball Concessions

49. 3/7/12 Post Trial Site Visit Softball Dugout

50. 3/7/12 Post Trial Site Visit Softball Infield