Title IX is a piece of legislation that is aimed to bring equality to activities from the youth to the collegiate level. Before Title IX there had been discrimination towards women in athletics, and Title IX requires athletic organizations to have equal opportunities between all genders.

Title IX physically 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 education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, except that…” It continues with exceptions where Title IX does not apply. The legislation is meant to bring equality, however it can be interpreted in many different ways.

One common misconception about this legislation is that it only works in favor of women. The purpose of Title IX is to bring equality to athletics, so it is meant to work for everyone.  According to ncaa.org, “The law requires educational institutions to maintain policies, practices and programs that do not discriminate against anyone on the basis of gender.”

One example that this idea has been implemented is with the hockey teams. The boys hockey team raised money for a new locker room, but the girls team also had to get a new locker room too. Questions about whether this is fair or not have been asked, but facilities between boys and girls teams need to be equal, and it would work the other way if the girls raised the money too. If the girls did not get the same facility as the boys then the The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the ones who enforce Title IX, would be able to not allow the boys to use the locker room. This is an extreme example, however with larger stadiums across the country those facilities have been closed until equal facilities have been built.

With the addition of a MSHSL competing dance team at OHS – which is exclusive to females – there will be 14 girls sports available at OHS with 12 boys sports at OHS. Athletic Director Ryan Swanson said, “What we need to do is create an equal opportunity for boys and girls sports.” If another sport was to be added there has to be interest, that would be noted by interest surveys every two years, and there is the question of whether OHS can sustain another activity. Swanson said, “Our surveys don’t indicate any popularity, other than trap shooting, and I don’t see many more activities in the future. There are also not many options that we would be able to add, but I’d love to add more adapted opportunities.”
Right now, OHS is compliant with Title IX. On the topic of Title IX, Swanson said, “It’s a good thing that we have Title IX because it protects more things that we don’t think of, but creating equality is just the right thing to do.” This is important to members of OHS, and Title IX is a step towards making sure equality is met.

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