10/19/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/19/2023 12:32
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced that Morgan Hill Unified School District in California has entered into a resolution agreement to ensure the district's compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 with respect to the athletics program at Live Oak High School.
OCR identified compliance concerns regarding district provision of athletic opportunities for female student athletes in components of its athletic program including equipment, scheduling of game times, travel, coaching, locker room and competitive facilities, medical and training facilities, and publicity.
Evidence in the investigation included, for example, that the baseball program at the school had two fields for its exclusive use while the softball program at the school had only one softball field. The varsity baseball field also included features that the softball field lacked, such as lighting, a scoreboard, and a PA system. OCR also reviewed evidence that showed some boys' programs enjoyed access to charter buses for transportation, whereas the girls' programs lacked such access and may have been required to provide their own transportation to away games and matches.
OCR also had concerns that the girls' programs, as compared to the boys' programs, may not have had similar quality equipment, equal access to the school's weight room and athletic trainer, equal access to the school's athletic locker room, or equitable publicity from the school's social media accounts. OCR also reviewed evidence suggesting that female athletes had less opportunity to receive coaching than male athletes at the school.
The resolution agreement commits the district to take the steps needed to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of sex in all of its education programs and activities, including athletics.
"Today's resolution with Morgan Hill Unified School District addresses the disparities in the quality and availability of benefits for female athletes that OCR observed in the athletics programs at Live Oak High School," said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. "Morgan Hill Unified School District has committed now to provide all its students with equivalent access to athletic opportunities regardless of sex, as Title IX has long required."
The district's commitments in the resolution agreement include:
The letter to the Morgan Hill Unified School District and resolution agreement are available on the Office for Civil Rights website.