Fair Play Now: Make a Difference

This straightforward guide gives you step-by-step instructions to help provide a level playing field for girls in sports at your school. While the instructions set out a useful sequence of steps, you can adjust the order of those steps — and even skip some of them — depending on your particular situation. If you have questions or need assistance at any point in this process, please contact Melanie at the National Women's Law Center at mrosslevin@nwlc.org.

Step #1: Educate Yourself

• Review the resources we have available. Specifically, take a look at The Battle for Gender Equity in Elementary and Secondary Schools. If you are a lawyer, or are working with a lawyer, please check out Breaking Down Barriers: A Legal Guide to Title IX and Athletic Opportunities.

Step #2: Look at Your Schools and Form a "Team"

• Take our Get Girls in the Game survey to get a preliminary idea of whether your school is providing a level playing field for girls in sports.
• Check out your school in more detail by completing the longer survey in Check It Out, or use the Women's Sports Foundation's School Report Card. If either or both surveys indicate that your school may not be complying with Title IX, gather as many facts as you can about any and all ways in which girls are not treated as well as boys in sports.
• Talk to others. Form a supportive “Team” of parents, coaches, and community leaders to discuss your concerns. They can help you collect more information and decide how to proceed.

Step #3: Take Action at Your School

• Let your school officials, such as your athletic director and/or principal, know the areas in which the school is doing well and those in need of improvement. Strategize with them about how to make sure that boys and girls are treated fairly in the athletic program.
• Contact your school’s Title IX officer. Every federally funded school is required by law to have a Title IX officer. Get the Title IX officer’s help in leveling the playing field at your school.
• Find out if your school has a grievance procedure. If your school does not address your concerns informally, consider going through the formal grievance process.

Step #4: Don't Give Up!

• If your school does not respond to your concerns, contact your school board and ask them to take action to remedy the inequities. You also may want to contact other elected officials to ask for assistance.
• Depending on the response of your school to your concerns, consider contacting local media. For example, you can write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper describing the Title IX problems at your school.
• If your school has not remedied the problems, consider filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR). This complaint must be filed within 180 days of the discrimination or, if you went through your school’s formal grievance process, within 60 days of the last action in that process. A complaint filed with OCR is not a lawsuit, but will prompt an OCR investigation of your claims.
• If you have taken the steps listed above, and your school still has not corrected the Title IX violations, consider filing a lawsuit. (Note that you can file a lawsuit whether you have taken the steps identified above or not.) Although the rule varies by state, in general, lawsuits must be filed within one to three years of the date of the discrimination. Talk to an attorney who can help you determine whether this is the best course of action. If you need help identifying an attorney with Title IX expertise, contact the National Women’s Law Center at mrosslevin@nwlc.org for assistance.