Title IX. by Emily Courtney HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Title IX by Emily Courtney HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Title IX by Emily Courtney PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover Luca Bruno/AP Wide World Photos. Title Page Mike Powell/Getty Images. 3 Luca Bruno/ AP Wide World Photos. 4 Francis Miller/Getty Images. 7 AP Wide World Photos. 8 AP Wide World Photos. 9 Wally McNamee/CORBIS. 10 TRBfoto/Getty Images. 11 Mike Powell/Getty Images. 12 C Squared Studios/Getty Images. 13 Scott Barbour/Getty Images. 14 Getty Images. 15 Steve Miller/AP Wide World Photos. Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777. Printed in China ISBN-13: 978-0-547-01648-1 ISBN-10: 0-547-01648-4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0940 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.

Table of Contents Introduction 3 The History of Title IX 4 Its Roots Women and Equality Athletes and Their Sports 6 Kathrine Switzer, Running Donna de Varona, Swimming Dot Richardson, Softball Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Track and Field Mia Hamm, Soccer Women in Basketball Title IX Through the Years 16 Three Requirements of Title IX The Future

Introduction The players gather along the sidelines of the soccer field for their final routine. They adjust their shin guards. They lace up their cleats. They get one last word of advice from their coach. Then, arms and legs pumping in unison, they take the field as the crowd cheers. It is the summer of 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia. For the first time ever, women s soccer is an Olympic event. The U.S. team has captured the imagination of the nation, and it is one win away from the gold medal. What chain of events brought this group of athletes to this world-class competition? Obviously, there had been years of conditioning, drilling, practicing, and competing. All of the athletes had dedication, talent, and drive. Yet their appearance in the Olympics would never have happened if Title IX (nine) had not become law in 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 educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. U.S. Olympic women s soccer team players celebrate the team s victory over China on August 1, 1996. 3

The History of Title IX Its Roots Title IX traces its roots back to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Growing demand for liberty and justice for all marked those decades. People exercised their right to assembly and free speech. They held demonstrations. They organized boycotts and strikes. They marched in cities from coast to coast. They gathered across the nation to express their desire for change. Leaders such as Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King, Jr., gave voice to the struggle for freedom. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson fought to make equal rights a reality. On July 2, 1964, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law. The Act enforced the U.S. Constitution. It outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religious belief, or country of origin. On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr., gave a famous speech to a crowd of 250,000 gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. He spoke about his dream of equality. 4

Women and Equality The Civil Rights Act of 1964 opened doors for many Americans. On the night President Johnson signed it, he announced, We believe that all men are created equal... Unfortunately, this phrase left out half the population. The new laws needed to protect women, too. In 1968, President Johnson issued an executive order, a rule having the force of law. It amended the Civil Rights Act to ban discrimination on the basis of gender. At the time, Bernice R. Sandler worked at the University of Maryland. She used the executive order to show that females in schools were not being treated fairly. She set the wheels of change in motion. Lawmakers took a closer look at the Civil Rights Act, especially two parts of it Title VI (six) and Title VII (seven). Lawmakers drafted Title IX to clarify Title VI. Title VI covered programs and activities funded by the government. Examples included public schools, colleges and universities, and community centers. All taxpayers paid for these programs and activities. Lawmakers wanted everyone to benefit from them equally. When Title IX came before Congress, it raised some questions. The law listed athletics among the programs that would be affected. If a school received money from the government, it would have to include everyone in the programs it offered. Did this mean that football teams would have to allow female players? This seemed to be the one element that worried lawmakers. There was a discussion on the Senate floor. A decision was reached. Programs could be different. Opportunities had to be uniform. 5

President Richard Nixon signed Title IX into law on June 23, 1972. Its sweeping changes would not start right away. For one thing, it took three years to set up the rules that would help put Title IX into place. Then there had to be a way to make sure that everyone followed them. Every school, district, or other federally funded program had to hire someone to see that the terms of Title IX were met. Today most people link Title IX with women s sports. It s true that Title IX changed the lives of female athletes. However, Title IX was meant to see that everyone was treated fairly in all school programs. According to Title IX, all students must be given the same chance when qualifying for enrollment or for earning scholarships. They must have equal access to all academic courses. They must all be able to use counseling services. They must have equal opportunity to receive financial aid and support in technology and job placement and training. Campus facilities such as dorms, locker rooms, and classrooms must be comparable or identical. Athletes and Their Sports You can probably name lots of girls in your class who play basketball or soccer. Girls were once prevented from playing these sports. In the past, doctors thought that strenuous exercise was unhealthy for girls. 6

American women have excelled in sports for years. Until Title IX went into effect, though, their opportunities to compete were often cut short. Kathrine Switzer, Running The 26-mile Boston Marathon was traditionally for males only. Women were not allowed to compete in distance running. In 1967, Kathrine Switzer entered the race, using only her first two initials on her official entry form. When a race official saw that she was a woman, he tried to physically remove her from the competition. She would not be intimidated. She finished the race, breaking through a barrier that had held women back for decades. A race official (in black) tries to remove Kathrine Switzer from the 1967 Boston Marathon. In 1974, Switzer won the New York City marathon. Switzer had a long career as a top-ranked runner and world-class athlete. 7

Donna de Varona, co-founder of the Women s Sports Foundation, works tirelessly on behalf of women s sports. Donna de Varona, Swimming Donna de Varona s first passion was baseball, but Little League did not allow girls to play. The best that de Varona could hope for was to be the bat girl. When a baseball injury sent her brother to the pool to get back in shape, de Varona went with him to keep him company. A swimming champion was born. In 1964, the press named 17-year-old Donna de Varona the most outstanding female athlete in the world. She held 37 national swimming titles. She had smashed a total of 18 world records. She had made her second trip to the Olympic Games and won two gold medals for the United States. Donna de Varona had speed, strength, focus, and fame. If de Varona had been male, she would have received an athletic scholarship to college. But in those days, there were few women s athletic programs, and swimming scholarships for women did not exist. Donna de In 1974, about 50,000 men Varona s days as a swimming received athletic scholarships, star came to an end. while fewer than 50 women did. 8

Dot Richardson, Softball Dot Richardson was playing catch in a park in Orlando, Florida, when a Little League coach spotted her. The year was 1971, and Dot was 10 years old. The coach wanted her fantastic throwing arm on his team. Dot might have been all for it, but the coach would have to bend the rules. He suggested that she cut her hair short and change her name to Bob. Luckily for Dot, she didn t have long to wait for a chance to play. The passage of Title IX rocketed her to dizzying heights in the sports world. Beginning in 1979, she won four Pan American Game championships, four world championships, and two Olympic gold medals. She hit the first home run in Olympic softball history. Dot Richardson s two-run homer clinched the victory for the United States at the 1996 Olympics and the first gold medal ever awarded in softball. 9

Off the field, Dot Richardson became another kind of champion, thanks to Title IX. She studied pre-med at the University of California at Los Angeles. She went on to study exercise and health, earning a master s degree. Then Richardson entered medical school. She set up her schedule so that she could practice softball after her hospital shift ended. Richardson became a doctor. Then she went on to become an orthopedic surgeon. When Dot Richardson was growing up, her chances of becoming a surgeon were almost as slim as her chances of becoming a softball star. Without Title IX, these milestones in her personal and professional life would have been difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. In 1972, 9 percent of medical degrees went to women. In 2000, nearly 43 percent of medical degrees went to women. 10

Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Track and Field Jackie Joyner-Kersee was 10 years old when Title IX became law, just in time for her to hit her stride in track and field. Sports Illustrated for Women named her the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century. In the history of track and field, she proved her ability time and again. Off the field, she led by example, encouraging young athletes to follow in her footsteps and realize their dreams. She showed young girls that anything is possible. A Record-Breaking Athlete In the 1988 OIympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, Jackie Joyner-Kersee broke the world record for the fourth time and won gold medals in the long jump and the heptathlon. To win the heptathlon, an athlete has to have mastered seven events 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, long jump, javelin, and 800 meters. She s the greatest multi-event athlete ever, man or woman. Bruce Jenner, 1976 Olympic decathlon champion You saw her and got the idea of what a woman athlete should be. Mia Hamm, soccer star 11

Mia Hamm, Soccer Mia Hamm was born just a few months before Title IX was signed into law. In many ways, Title IX has shaped her life. At the age of 15, she became the youngest woman to play for the U.S. National Soccer Team. In college, she played on the University of North Carolina soccer team. Her team won four national championships, and she was the top scorer in the nation. She was named Player of the Year in 1990, 1992, and 1993. For Hamm, athletic challenges did not end when her college jersey (#19) was retired in 1994. Women s soccer was on the rise. There were plenty of chances to play. Title IX had set the stage for U.S. women s soccer to explode. During her soccer career, Mia Hamm led U.S. teams as they won two World Cups and two Olympic gold medals. She brought skill, speed, and smarts to every match she played. She received honors, awards, medals, and trophies. Time and again she was named top team athlete of the year, top female athlete of the year, and most valuable player. 12

A high point in Mia Hamm s career came in 1996. Team USA beat China to win the first ever Olympic women s soccer title. The team won its gold medal on its home turf in Atlanta, Georgia. The stadium was full. Soccer fever swept the nation. Men and women, boys and girls tuned in to watch the final. Mia Hamm and her teammates shared a sweet victory. They also made history for women in sports. Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Joy Fawcett, Julie Foudy, and Kristine Lilly formed the Fab Five on that first Olympic team. They went on to win silver at the 2000 Olympics. They won gold again at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. On August 26, 2007, Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy were inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame. Mia Hamm s presence on the soccer field spanned almost twenty years. She once said,... What I always feel is that when [young girls] watch us play that they see themselves, that they can do anything. 13

Women in Basketball Basketball was another sport that got a boost from Title IX. From 1972 to 1995, the number of girls playing high school basketball rose by 300 percent. Without Title IX, I d be nowhere. These are the words of Cheryl Miller, whose talent on the basketball court was obvious by the time she was in high school. In 1982, she set a record by scoring 105 points in one game! She went on to play college basketball for the University of Southern California (USC). For Miller, awards and honors were routine. In 1984, she played on the gold medal-winning Olympic basketball team. In 1986, Sports Illustrated named her the best college basketball player, male or female. Miller s athletic ability helped put women s basketball squarely in the spotlight. Women s basketball was on a roll. The U.S. women won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1996, 2000, and 2004. In addition, a professional women s basketball league was founded in 1996 the Women s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Top basketball players like Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley, Sheryl Swoopes, and Rebecca Lobo were drafted to play in the league. 14

Rebecca Lobo was a University of Connecticut basketball star, an Olympic gold medalist, and one of the greatest players of the WNBA. Rebecca Lobo Born in 1973, right after Title IX became law, basketball star Rebecca Lobo proudly considers herself a Title IX baby. Without the new opportunities provided by Title IX, Lobo has said that she doubts she would have been able to pursue a basketball career. She notes, I do not think college basketball scholarships for women would have been available without it. 15

Title IX Through the Years Title IX became law decades ago. Through the years, there have been many legal challenges to the law. There continue to be controversies about how it is applied and enforced. As soon as it was passed, Title IX came under fire. Right away, dissatisfied lawmakers tried to change it. They claimed that Title IX cut into sports budgets for men s programs. Those who were against Title IX could recite a list of reasons to back up their arguments. Some of the reasons had to do with football programs, which claim the lion s share of resources in college athletic departments. Title IX has often taken the blame when budget cuts are needed. Yet Title IX does not require that a college eliminate men s teams to achieve balance. And men who play sports other than football, as well as women athletes, are often united in their desire to receive a fair share of athletic funding. Three Requirements of Title IX Title IX requires that all schools receiving federal funding must provide equal opportunities for males and females. When it comes to athletics, there are three aspects of this requirement. Participation Participation opportunities are measured in different ways. Schools don t have to offer identical sports. They do, however, have to give both genders equal opportunity to play sports of interest. Participation opportunities should be in proportion to enrollment. For example, if 55 percent of athletes are men and 45 percent are women, participation opportunities should at least match those percentages. 16

Scholarship Money Title IX requires that schools give all athletes a fair share of scholarship money. Scholarships should also be in proportion to enrollment. So, if 55 percent of athletes playing a college sport are men and 45 percent are women, scholarship money must match. In the case above, if a school had $100,000 in scholarship money, $55,000 in scholarships would go to male athletes and $45,000 would go to female athletes. Other Aspects of Athletic Programs The third requirement of Title IX is that all aspects of athletic programs be treated equally. There must be equality in coaching and in recruiting of athletes. Men and women must have equal access to good equipment, supplies, and practice and game facilities. While the actual amount of money spent may be different between men s and women s programs, the quality of services and facilities must be equal. From Player to Coach Tara VanDerveer lives and breathes basketball. She always has. But when she was a kid, her school didn t have a girls team. When she got to college, she was finally able to play but there were no scholarships, and she had to pay her own way to out-of-town games. Since then, she has spent 22 years coaching the Stanford University women s basketball team. The athletes she coaches can follow their dreams more easily because of Title IX. 17

18 The Future Because of Title IX, generations of women and girls have learned the lessons that all athletes learn. Sports teach life skills. They teach the importance of hard work and setting goals. While playing sports, young athletes learn leadership skills and the importance of teamwork. These are all skills that will make them successful in the workplace. They are skills that will help them reach whatever goals they set in life. Title IX has faced many challenges over the years. It will undoubtedly face challenges in the future. As long as it remains law, it will continue to serve its purpose to promote equality in education, athletics, and academics for all. Title IX

Responding TARGET SKILL Sequence of Events What series of events led to the growth of equality in federally funded athletic programs? Copy and complete the chart below. Event:? Event: President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law in 1964. Event:? Write About It Text To World Write a brief story about a girl in the mid-1970s joining the first girls basketball or soccer team at her school. Create historical context for the story with information on the passage of Title IX. 19

TARGET VOCABULARY competition element identical intimidated mastered qualifying recite routine uniform unison EXPAND YOUR VOCABULARY boycotts controversies demonstrations discrimination TARGET SKILL Sequence of Events Identify the time order in which events take place. TARGET STRATEGY Monitor/Clarify As you read, notice what isn t making sense. Find ways to figure out the parts that are confusing. GENRE Narrative Nonfiction gives factual information by telling a true story. 20

Level: Y DRA: 60 Genre: Narrative Nonfiction Strategy: Monitor/Clarify Skill: Sequence of Events Word Count: 2,955 5.1.4 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books ISBN-13:978-0-547-01648-1 ISBN-10:0-547-01648-4 1031485