Successful Challenge, Ruling Reversed: Why the OCR Survey Proposal May be Well-Intentioned But Misguided

Abstract

The paper details the history and development of Title IX and its implementing regulations as applied to intercollegiate athletics, highlighting the inequities that have often resulted from its interpretation and application to college programs. It then analyzes the recent Office of Civil Rights’ (the division of the Department of Education that interprets and implements Title IX’s regulatory structure and oversees collegiate adherence to Title IX) proposal to allow institutions to use electronic surveys to comply with prong three of the (in)famous Three Prong Test. The paper concludes that the survey scheme is a good step forward in correcting inequities while preserving opportunities for women, but underlines some weaknesses in the OCR’s proposal and suggests some ways to correct these shortcomings. Ultimately, the paper concludes that schools should be allowed to measure genuine interest in athletic participation among both male and female undergraduates and develop appropriate programs to meet these needs without adhering to the strictures of proportionality so prevalent in institutions today.