Challenges with Title IX Compliance Facing High School Administrators Today

In athletic administration, there are always new developments with accompanying adjustments and changes. It is no different with Title IX compliance even though this federal legislation has been around for 50 years. The provisions and tenets of Title IX continue to evolve, and there may be ongoing challenges associated with compliance regarding this statute.

While well-meaning booster clubs often serve a valuable role by generating ancillary funds for the athletic program, they can also cause some unintentional problems with respect to Title IX compliance. This means that administrative oversight and guidance is essential.

In the Greenwood (Arkansas) School District, Dustin Smith, the district’s athletic director, has his coaches present their ideas first before they actually start any fundraising initiative.

“My job is to ensure that whatever is being raised by one sport, we look for ways to fund the corresponding one as well,” Smith said. “This isn’t always easy, and we sometimes have to make a presentation to the upper-level administration or board to find the extra money. It may also mean that I have to find additional creative fund-raising possibilities to fill the gap.”

Dr. Branden Lippy, athletic director of Lampeter-Strasburg High School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, added that, “We host an athletic council meeting of all 19 booster clubs and review the booster club handbook that details the policies, procedures and logistical items involving fundraising and how facility use should be managed. This takes constant communication and the need to address any issues or concerns in a constructive and solution-based approach. Ultimately, there needs to be a high level of integrity on the part of the athletic administrator to ensure that all sports, no matter the gender or level of success, are being fairly supported.”

Anne MacNeil, athletic director of Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, Connecticut, said, “It is my duty to make sure that all programs, regardless of gender, receive fair support. Good communication and consistent transparency are key points that have to be maintained. It is vitally important that coaches understand that their teams are but one piece of our overall program, and all sports and teams are equally essential for meeting the needs of our students.”

“We don’t have a booster club,” MacNeil continued, “but when our alumni association initiated an effort to improve the baseball field that was to be dedicated to a former coach, I clearly and politely stipulated that the softball field also had to receive similar improvements. Teams will ask, ‘Can we get a night game scheduled in the stadium?,’ and my response is, ‘I won’t do for one team what I can’t for all.’

MacNeil said this approach also applies to using coach buses to state tournament games, uniform purchases, scheduling facilities for practice sessions or the purchase of equipment. When it comes to finding the financial resources to fill the gap possibly caused by an eager booster club, Doug Marchetti, athletic director of Norwalk (Connecticut) High School, believes he is fortunate.

“Most of our funding requests are covered by the school budget, which I administer, but I am also able to fill the discrepancies with a school-based account that is funded through miscellaneous donations and the sale of season passes,” Marchetti said, “Also, virtually all of our teams and their booster clubs fundraise at a similar level, which makes honoring requests somewhat easier.”

Working with an extremely small and limited budget, Gail Browning, athletic director at the Neuse Charter School in Smithfield, North Carolina, works hard to inform and remind coaches that as many equipment purchases as possible should benefit multiple teams.

“For example, a three-wheel pitching machine for baseball had a conversion kit that also made it useable for softball, and this is the type of purchases that we emphasize,” Browning said.

Since oversight and the guidance of booster clubs should entail attending meetings and reviewing monthly financial records, a strong case can be made for the single, overall athletic program booster club. One or two monthly meetings, one agenda with recommendations and one set of financial records should be easier to monitor and to hold a group accountable than dealing with multiple individual organizations. While individual clubs may have been the tradition, it may be prudent to consider a more effective, centralized system.

In addition to the role of booster clubs with Title IX, there are always new parents and some coaches who annually join the athletic program. Marchetti hosts two meetings with parents – an open house for parents of incoming freshmen and more traditional preseason meetings in which they also get to interact with the coaches. It is during these meetings that he provides “a more formal presentation with handouts regarding fundraising, the concept of equity and how the athletic program works toward Title IX compliance.”

“We don’t educate only one time during the summer,” Smith said. “If there is information that is pertinent to their role, I will immediately pass it along via an email. We cannot ever think that we know everything about this legislation or its impact since it continues to evolve.”

Ensuring that transgender athletes have equal access with regard to participation opportunities and locker rooms is another example of a recent development associated with Title IX. Browning said within the Neuse Charter School, less than one percent of the school population identifies as LGBTQ and no one has expressed interest at this point.

“We would start by handling each student on a case-by-case basis, and I would look to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and its Gender Identity Committee for guidelines as needed,” Browning said.

Marchetti said if or when he needed advice or guidance with respect to transgender athletes or any question related to Title IX, he contacts the Deputy Superintendent for Excellence, Equity and Inclusion. All schools should have a Title IX Coordinator who has the ultimate responsibility to ensure compliance, and this should be an individual other than an athletic administrator.

“I realize that I do not do enough to educate my coaches with respect to Title IX,” Lippy said. “Obviously, I do communicate with them if or when a concern arises, but I also realize that I need to make more of an effort to be proactive and TEACH them as opposed to reacting to a question, concern or situation when it arises.”

Lippy’s reflective comment should serve as a reminder and blueprint for all athletic administrators. With an ongoing awareness of new developments, better communication and thoughtful introspection, the challenges of Title IX compliance can be successfully met today and in the future.