Protecting Title IX From Emerging Threats: What's Fact vs. Fiction Got To Do With It?

Rayla Allison, Deborah Larkin, Mary Jo Kane, Nicole LaVoi

October 24, 2005

A panel of experts examined recent developments that threaten to reverse the unprecedented progress and achievements that have occurred in the wake of Title IX. Panel members were: Rayla Allison, a Title IX attorney from Minnesota State University, Mankato; Deborah Larkin, a nationally-known expert and advocate for Title IX and former Executive Director of the Women's Sports Foundation; Mary Jo Kane, a nationally-known scholar who has published extensively on the social and political implications of Title IX; and Nicole LaVoi, a sport psychologist and the Tucker Center's new Associate Director, who moderated the discussion. The panel addressed legal issues that have had a major impact on Title IX compliance, the numerous myths and misrepresentations surrounding Title IX (e.g., Title IX forces schools to drop men's sports), and 2005 guidelines from the Department of Education that undermine female athletes by making them prove they are interested in playing a particular sport in order to receive that opportunity. Specific strategies to safeguard Title IX were also presented.