A little-publicized bill introduced in New Mexico’s state legislative session is poised to deal a blow to providing women equal access to sporting opportunities in our state. Specifically, several senators are backing Senate Bill 361 to repeal the New Mexico School Athletics Equity Act (SAEA) which, if successful, would eliminate reporting requirements intended to ensure our schools are doing their part in providing equal access to sports — a key element of the Title IX federal law.
The problem today is the same one we faced back in 1972, when a mere 294,000 girls (1 in 27) played high school sports and only 8 percent of NCAA athletes were women. The solution was Title IX, a federal mandate that provided federal aid to those institutions that provided equal opportunities for men and women.
Today, 3.2 million girls play high school sports, and women represent 41.7 percent of NCAA athletes. Yet, high school girls still receive 1.3 million fewer opportunities to participate in sports and drop out at a rate two times greater than boys.
If women are still underrepresented and Title IX is working, why does New Mexico need SAEA, which requires schools to accurately report sports participation by gender? The simple answer is, to ensure equity, we need a transparent reporting mechanism. Given that New Mexico has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the country, a 63 percent graduation rate and that sports participation has proven to decrease female health risks as well as improve school retention, it is imperative that we adopt a zero-tolerance policy on discrimination. Required reporting is the answer.
Senators leading the effort to repeal SAEA directed attention to points irrelevant to the original intent of SAEA. One argued that equity is an issue between the state and federal government. If we truly want to reduce teen pregnancy, the school dropout rate, depression, smoking, obesity and dating violence, then we should care more than the federal government about the sports opportunities provided to girls in our state.
Another senator argued that efforts should be directed to placing more teachers in the classroom. While there is no evidence that more teachers in the classroom decrease the health risks facing New Mexican women, it’s been consistently well-documented that participation in sports does.
State athletic directors argued that they can police themselves with help from parents. It is naïve to suggest that parents are going to be the watchdog for discrimination around the state, as most don’t understand Title IX rights. As for athletic directors, outside pressures from boosters combined with lack of funds make self-policing a nice ideal, but history shows it won’t happen. If ADs become the sole source of reporting, it’s not a matter of whether women’s sports programs will be negatively affected, rather how many and how deeply.
The proponents of repealing SAEA focused primarily on the argument that data collection and reporting are time-consuming. The opponents of repealing SAEA made it clear they want to work with the athletic directors, senators and the Public Education Department to streamline reporting. Yet, a motion to table the repeal and bring together all parties failed.
True supporters of Title IX are willing to move from a “best effort” approach to one of policy. Without SAEA, there is no possibility of prevention of discrimination. Lawsuits will be filed, and in the meantime, our young women will continue to have unintended pregnancies, diabetes and smoke. Instead of New Mexico waiting for the federal government to solve our issues, let’s take advantage of the opportunity SAEA provides to attain true equality, and in the process, empower thousands of young women in New Mexico.
Caroline Silby, Ph.D., a sport psychologist, author of Games Girls Play: Understanding and Guiding Young Female Athletes (St. Martin’s Press 2000, 2001), former member of the U.S. National Figure Skating Team and professor at American University. She resides in Santa Fe with her husband and two young daughters.
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