That one little word has led to a mini-revolution in all aspects of a girl’s education, from Kindergarten to Graduate School, all across the nation. In 1972, Title IX was adopted as the landmark legislation for prohibition of gender discrimination in schools, and was signed into law, by President Richard Nixon, on June 23. This legislation encompasses both academics and athletics. Title IX reads: “No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid.” Since 1972, many attempts have been made to alter the appearance and effect of Title IX. On May 20, 1974, Senator Tower proposed an amendment to Title IX which would allow revenue-producing sports to be exempt from being tabulated when determining a school’s Title IX compliance. This proposal was rejected. [1] Two months later, Senator Javits proposed an amendment which would require the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) to issue the Title IX regulation including the phrase “with respect to intercollegiate athletic activities, reasonable activities considering the nature of particular sports.” This amendment was adopted. [1] The following June, Representative O’Hara introduced House Bill H.R. 8394, proposing to use the revenue-producing sports money to first support that sport, then to help support the other sports. This bill died in committee, as did a July, 1977 proposal by Senators Tower, Bartlett and Hruska to exclude revenue-producing sports from Title IX coverage. [1] In 1975, HEW issued the final Title IX regulation (34 C.F.R. Part 106), which was signed into law, by President Gerald Ford, and was effective as of July 21, 1975. This final version of the act created a three-year window for institutions to comply. Finally, in 1980, when the Department of E...
