Testimony at the Chicago town hall meeting

Abstract

On September 17, 2002, the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics held the second of four public meetings to hear testimony about Title IX and its current enforcement mechanisms. One of the panelists at the meeting, held in Chicago, was Katherine Kersten, senior fellow for cultural studies at Center of the American Experiment in Minneapolis, MN. According to Ms. Kersten, the “proportionality” test—currently used to determine compliance under Title IX—is a gender quota of the kind that the language of Title IX specifically rejects. In her view, the proportionality test needlessly limits male students' athletic opportunities. Ms. Kersten recommended that the Commission use statistical analysis to determine whether factors like campus demographics or differences in student interest—rather than discrimination—account for numerical disparities in men's and women's participation in college sports.

On Junuary 31, 2003, the Commission released its report to Secretary of Education Rod Paige. Among other things, the report recommended that the Department of Education consider permitting colleges to use interest surveys as part of their planning for athletics. However, on February 28, 2003, Secretary Paige rejected this recommendation, along with all other recommendations that the commissioners did not approve, by unanimous vote. As a result, the Department will likely continue to use the proportionality test as a primary means of judging compliance under Title IX. Ms. Kersten's testimony—a critique of the proportionality test—is thus of continued relevance, and appears below.