Schools Using New Survey Must Examine Adding Women’s Teams

The Bush administration said that schools that use a new survey of students’ interest in playing varsity sports “will be obligated to examine adding teams for women even if only small numbers of female students indicate they are interested,” according to Erik Brady of USA TODAY. U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Assistant Secretary James Manning said that the new survey “is not a loophole” through which schools can evade Title IX obligations, and added that if “some schools believe it is, they may find otherwise by using it.” Manning noted that “if only two dozen women who answer a survey say they want to play volleyball, ‘then a school would have an absolute obligation to go further.’” Brady writes that “might include organizational meetings and tryouts that could lead to adding a team.” But Brady notes, “Even where interest exists, schools are not obligated to add a women’s team unless the interested students have ability and there are opponents in a school’s competitive region.” Meanwhile, women’s groups said that it is “unfair that students who do not answer e-mails can be counted as not interested.” Office for Civil Rights attorney David Black said that students “must say they do not wish to be surveyed to be counted as not interested” (USA TODAY, 5/17).