June 29, 2007

Title IX Enforcement Called 'Deeply Troubling'

As landmark gender-equity law reaches its 35th anniversary, report criticizes federal oversight

By Sara Lipka and Brad Wolverton

The government agency responsible for enforcing gender equity in college sports is falling down on the job, according to a report released last week by the National Women's Law Center.

Over the past five years, the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights — the administrative guardian of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the law that prohibits sex discrimination at institutions that receive federal funds — has cut back sharply in the number