Equality in School

Equality in schools As a girl in New York City in the 1930s and ’40s, Bernice "Bunny" Sandler wasn’t allowed to be a school crossing guard—only the boys at her school could do that. Running the classroom projector was also forbidden for girls. And though the boys had plenty of opportunities to play sports at school, there weren’t teams for girls—and they weren’t allowed on boys’ teams. Sandler didn’t think it was fair but told herself that’s just the way the world works. Then years later, she wasn’t hired for a teaching position at a public school because she was a woman. Enough was enough. Sandler began a three-year-long fight for equal opportunities for all females. Here’s how that struggle led to the passage of Title IX, the 1972 law banning gender discrimination at places that get money from the government. How schools discriminated against girls and women? To draw attention to the challenges facing girls and women in education Sandler studied hundreds of schools. Her research found that many universities had quotas, or limits, on how many women could attend. One veterinary school allowed only two women to enroll each year—no matter how many applied or how smart they were. Other schools required women to have higher test scores and better grades than men to get in. And once enrolled, female students didn’t have equal access to scholarship money to help pay for their education. Women and girls also didn’t have equal opportunities to play on sports teams because schools spent money mostly on boys’ teams. (For instance, in 1969, one college budget set aside $90,000 for boys’ sports—and $200 for girls’.) Locker rooms, equipment, and training programs for female students were often not as good as what the boys had. The campaign begins With the help of like-minded people, Sanders used her research to file official complaints with the government against 250 colleges and universities that had violated the executive order. She encouraged people affected by the unequal treatment to share their stories with their congressional representatives. The protesters created so much mail that several full-time employees were assigned to handle the letters. Lawmakers noticed Sandler’s complaints about these violations and realized that stronger rules were needed to protect females from discrimination. Representatives Patsy Takemoto Mink of Hawaii and Edith Starrett Green of Oregon, along with Senator Birch Evans Bayh of Indiana, worked to convince their colleagues to support the bill. After several months of discussion, other elected officials agreed, and Title IX of the Education Amendments Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Richard Nixon on June 23, 1972. It 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.” The impact of Title IX Even though Sandler’s research was on colleges and universities, Title IX would apply to elementary, middle, and high schools, too. That meant that girls were no longer forced to take classes in cooking, sewing, or typing. They could also learn to build things in shop class and repair cars—just like the boys. Although the law wasn’t specifically written to address sports, it had a huge impact on athletics as well. With three million more athletic opportunities than they had in the 1970s, girls can now play school sports like soccer, track, and basketball. Some girls even wrestle or play on football teams.