High Schools: Trouble Lies Ahead
As we’ve previously pointed out plenty of times, the three-part test that determines compliance with Title IX is only for intercollegiate athletics. We even tried to prove in court the loss of opportunities and equal protection under the law when high schools rely on gender quotas, but our case was thrown out on standing (not on the merits of the arguments).
Yet, pressure to apply the test (well, just proportionality) through the form of legal challenges, complaints, and “consulting” from activist groups like the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) and National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) continues to gain momentum. Boys are withheld opportunities to go from playing club to varsity and are even threatened with team cuts if not enough high school females show up to play. The problem, of course, is that none of this should be happening in the first place because the regulations have nothing to do with high school athletics.
The latest example is in Rockford, Illinois via the Rockford Register:
“The idea is to facilitate those who get interested in elementary and eventually create an all-boys program down the road,” Parker said. “We’ve started a committee, and hopefully we can convince enough of the schools in the conference to add it as well.”
A push to start boys volleyball in this area happened about 10 years ago.
“I think there was some interest from about half the schools in the conference,” Hononegah AD Jay Lauscher said. “We even went as far as to make a draft of a schedule, but it never went any further. So much of it is the cost of transportation. That’s the real hold up.”
Most schools in the NIC-10 would comply with Title IX rules if they added boys volleyball. At Hononegah, for example, competitive cheer gives girls one more opportunity to play sports than the boys have. With competitive dance added as an IHSA sport this year, there are now two more varsity sports offered to girls than boys.
We can only hope those school districts add varsity volleyball. The boys want it, and they’ve surely been trying long enough. But given how hard the activists are pushing Title IX proportionality in high schools, we wouldn’t be surprised if they never see their dreams of a varsity team realized.