I wrote recently about how community colleges are under threat because of Title IX. High schools face a similar specter of litigation, again because in many high schools, while almost all other activities are dominated by girls, there are more male athletes than female athletes. Particularly now, when so many school districts across the country are cash-strapped, it’s particularly important to give high schools certainty about Title IX enforcement.


That’s why the Pacific Legal Foundation, on behalf of the American Sports Council, today filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education, challenging the use of the “three prong test” and its application to high schools. The Daily Caller’s Caroline May has a good write up of the lawsuit:



In one of the first major challenges of the application of Title IX’s three-point test in high schools, the American Sports Council (ASC) filed a lawsuit Thursday against the U.S. Department of Education.


The federal lawsuit argues that the department’s use of gender quotas in high school athletic programs is a violation of the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.


According to the ASC, formerly the College Sports Council, Title IX activists have been “intimidating” high school districts that they say do not have an adequate “gender balance” in their athletic departments.


Nationally, 1.3 million more boys than girls play high school sports. ASC believes compliance with the current interpretation of the law would result in those boys losing their opportunity to continue playing.


“Not only is this interpretation not supported by law, it has the potential of destroying much of what is so good about the uniquely American athletic system – one that produces the world’s best scholar-athletes,” said ASC Chairman, Eric Pearson. “This pattern of legal intimidation needs to stop.”


This lawsuit is a welcome development. The public needs to understand that Title IX, while well-intentioned, is increasingly being used to deny boys to participate in sports, rather than increase girl’s opportunities to play. The Department of Education has refused to update Title IX enforcement and better enforcement mechanisms. Hopefully this lawsuit will encourage them to do just that.