Dept. of Ed. Reverses Troubling Guidelines on Gender Equity

[Breeze54]

Dept. of Ed. Reverses Troubling Guidelines on Gender Equity
Feminist Daily News Wire
March 5, 2007
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=10184

The Department of Education has withdrawn a proposed revision to state-reporting guidelines that would have reduced state accountability for gender equity in vocational education. The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 requires states to collect important data - including information about gender - about programs using federal money to monitor their progress and effectiveness. The proposed revision would have dropped the requirement that states separately report the number of women and men who participate in the vocational programs and the number of women and men who complete the programs. This distinction is important in determining whether these programs promote gender equity.

After releasing the proposed revision in January, the Department of Education received complaints from many groups, including the National Alliance for Partnerships in Education, Women Work, and the National Organization for Women. A letter of opposition was also submitted by members of Congress, including Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA).

"Women who enroll in non-traditional training programs prepare for vocations that typically employ men, such as construction management, law enforcement, and technical occupations. Completion of a career or technical program often allows women to find higher paying jobs. Title IX coordinators and others responsible for ending sex discrimination must continue to closely monitor how women and men perform in these programs," said Dr. Sue Klein, director of the Feminist Majority Foundation's Education Equity Program.

LEARN MORE Visit the Feminist Majority Foundation's Education Equity Program website
http://www.feminist.org/education/FMFprogram.asp

:applause: :applause:

[Breeze54]

1. When I was in high school? I was denied ANY

access to technological training because I was a GIRL!!!!!!!!!! :grr: :grr:

I couldn't be on "The Geek Squad" or the AV team or work in the Radio Station!

I wasn't allowed to go to "Tech School" because I was a GIRL!!! :grr: :grr:

This is fantastic that the pressure reversed the * Administration of DISCRIMINATING against GIRLS!!

Take that asshole *ush!!!











WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION:
THE SKY IS THE LIMIT


:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

:)

[Clark2008]

6. Just a side note - but have you ever looked up "girls' toys"

vs. "boys' toys" on any department store website?

I have - because I have a boy and I'm pregnant with a little girl.

What I found was startling: "boys' toys" are science kits and erecter sets and books and telescopes and cars and trucks. Girls' toys? Tea sets and dolls and bead kits and horses.

Not that there's anything WRONG with bead sets and horses - but WHY is a telescope or a science kit a "boy's toy" and not a "girl's toy???"

:grr:

[gollygee]

11. It sucks

for my daughter's 5th birthday (coming up) she asked for Legos, a magic kit, and a telescope. Guess where those all are?

She wants Barbie clothes too though.

[Solo_in_MD]

2. Votec is a choice, not clear unless there is active discouragment going on why stats would be a big

deal. However, for those with precentage fetishes, we could also look at how many boys took beauty school courses.

[Breeze54]

3. Title IX and non-exclusion based on sex!

About Title IX

http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/ge/aboutRE.html

Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 is the landmark legislation
that bans sex discrimination in schools, whether it be in academics or athletics.

Title IX states:

"No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of,
or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid."

Athletics has created the most controversy regarding Title IX, but its gains in education and academics are notable.

Before Title IX, many schools refused to admit women or enforced strict limits.

Some statistics highlighting the advancements follow:

* In 1994, women received 38% of medical degrees, compared with 9% in 1972.
* In 1994, women earned 43% of law degrees, compared with 7% in 1972.
* In 1994, 44% of all doctoral degrees to U.S. citizens went to women, up from 25% in 1977.

[Solo_in_MD]

4. I agree...I don't see why there would be any issue with collecting all kinds of stats.

However, we need to keep in mind that attending Votec and what path to take is an individual choice. Equal opportunity/access does not mean equal results or necessarily proportional numbers choosing to take advantage of it.

Those with a quota mentality will cite the underenrollement of women in certain curricula as proof of discrimination when today it is most often an artifact of students making choices. To those who whine about the underrepresentation of women in auto mechanics I point out that it is dwarfed by the massive underrepresentation of men in cosmetology classes. In fact both sets of numbers are meaningless when it comes to determining if discrimination is occurring. What matters is what the school district is supporting/allowing/setting as policy and if the students are being allowed to follow paths of their own choosing. I have not heard of or seen a public school actively discriminating against female students who want to pursue non-traditional interests in some time, though it clearly did happen in the past. Teachers are by and large a progressive bunch, I can't see it that kind of thing to day to go unchallenged.

[Breeze54]

5. Because the Bush admin. has worked to weaken Title IX

FMF Education Equity Program

http://www.feminist.org/education/FMFprogram.asp

On the heels of President Bush's attempts to weaken Title IX, the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF)
recently launched the FMF Education Equity program. Directed by Dr. Susan Klein, the program will
take a leading role in compiling research on gender equity and developing an active national Title
IX Action Network with Title IX gender equity coordinators and others who support gender equality
in education to fight the many threats to Title IX and maximize its beneficial impact on society.


“Title IX requires institutions that receive federal financial assistance for education programs
or activities to comply with all of its regulations prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex,”
said Dr. Klein.

“Each institution must have a Title IX Coordinator to comply. Many don't.
We must increase nationwide compliance and provide information and resources
to make gender equity in education a reality for women and men, girls and boys.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Threats to Title IX

http://www.feminist.org/education/ThreatsToTitleIX.asp

The current Bush administration has worked to weaken Title IX and the educational equality it guarantees.
From sports to vocational and technical education to sex segregation, the past four years have seen
a variety of attempts to diminish Title IX. “The Bush administration is conducting a stealth attack
on Title IX, and women and girls cannot and must not let them get away with it,” says Feminist Majority
President Eleanor Smeal.

RECENT THREATS TO TITLE IX:

Sex Segregation
In March 2004, the Bush Administration proposed changes to the Title IX Regulations that would make it easier to have sex-segregated classes and schools with no guarantee of equality. The Office for Civil Rights in the US Department of Education received over 5,000 public comments on the proposal. An estimated 96% of these comments were opposed to the Department's proposal to increase sex segregation in education instead of decreasing sex discrimination, the sole purpose of Title IX. On October 25, 2006 the Department issued new Title IX Regulations which are similar to its proposed 2004 draft Regulations. more...

Inadequate Federal Support and Neglect Threatens the Effectiveness of Title IX
Title IX is often poorly understood and poorly implemented by educators, parents, and students. For example, relatively few education agencies comply with the Title IX regulation to appoint, train, and make available their Title IX coordinators. Also, federal support for assistance providers such as the Women’s Educational Equity Act Resource Center and programs designed to help educators comply with Title IX has disappeared. more...

Dept. of Education Weakens Title IX Compliance Standards
In March 2005, the Department of Education released a policy clarification letter weakening the requirements of Part Three of the three-part test that provides guidance on the Title IX regulations to eliminate sex discrimination in intercollegiate athletics. The Department attended to public pressure in 2003 when they rejected similar weakening provisions recommended by The Secretary of Education ’s Commission on Equal Opportunity in Athletics. more...

Chief Justice John Roberts Has Record Limiting Title IX Protections
An examination of Roberts' papers reveals that he was for narrowly construing women's rights and civil rights. He wrote in favor of limiting racial integration via busing, and narrowing coverage of Title IX and affirmative action. For example, in a memo to the attorney general in August 1982, Roberts said he agreed with a decision by a federal district court that limited Title IX. Roberts argued Title IX should only apply to specific programs receiving federal aid, not entire universities. This argument was used by the Reagan Administration in Grove City v. Bell, a 1984 US Supreme Court decision that gutted Title IX. Feminist led the fight to reinstate full coverage of Tittle IX with the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987.

As a private lawyer in 2001, Roberts argued against Title IX again in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) v. Smith case, where he won the decision that NCAA was not covered by Title IX. Prior to that, when Roberts was Deputy Solicitor General in the first Bush Administration, he filed a "friend of the court" brief arguing that a student who was sexually harassed by her coach and teacher shouldn't be allowed to sue. For more information on judicial threats, visit Feminist Court Watch.

Title IX Critic Appointed to US Circuit Court of Appeals
Thomas B. Griffith, who recommended eliminating the proportionality part of the three-prong test while on the Secretary's Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, is now serving on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Numerous progressive groups opposed Griffith's June 2005 lifelong appointment because of his views on Title IX and other laws over which the DC Appeals Court has jurisdiction.

Commission Almost Succeeded in Weakening Title IX
The Secretary's Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, convened to review standards governing Title IX's application to athletics, recommended changes that would weaken Title IX. After broad public support for Title IX and the comments of an outspoken minority among the Commission members, the US Department of Education decided not to act on any of the recommendations made by the Commission that would weaken Title IX. more...

[Solo_in_MD]

7. Has there really been a retrenchment in the schools on Title IX?

I've read the source site for your posts but am still wondering if there really is a resurgence of active discrimination. Not having a formally designated coordinator is a technical violation, but may in fact be harmless. At the high school level where Votec is run I have not seen any active discrimination in years.

With regards to sports funding, I would not mind seeing the heavily funded sports disappear at the high school and even college level given the level of distraction and baggage they bring.

[Breeze54]

8. You're kidding me, right?

"...am still wondering if there really is a resurgence of active discrimination."

There is still rampant sexual discrimination in the USA! Yes!

And these programs, schools, colleges need to monitor, like they're supposed to do!

Just do a search for Title IX sexual discrimination and see how many times Title IX comes up.

Or vary the search terms and try it. I got results both ways.

I found a lot of news articles dated from just the last few months that were concerning
sexual discrimination in colleges and even in grade school.

[Solo_in_MD]

9. Thats not what I asked

I've done searches since this peaked my curiosity...yes there are the occasionally new cases, but the overall number of cases seems to be declining, which is what I would expect. Title IX is well known and defiance of its goals seems to be getting rarer. Even with my wife in education and myself as a former teacher, I have not seen a case of discrimination against female students in quite some time. School know the rules, and most seem to be trying to comply in good faith.

So my question remains, "has there been a resurgence in discrimination against female students in education?" I see people decrying loosening of reporting requirements and such, but no claims that it is increasing.

I am also focusing on education, not sports, which as I said earlier would be better done away with.

[Breeze54]

10. And what I'm saying

is that it still needs to be monitored, imho.

I was also looking at education, not just sports.

Bush has attacked many issues and programs concerning women though.

This isn't just about females. It concerns males, as well.