Title IX complaints in Oregon dropped

Author: Joshua Thompson

Today comes news that the hundred-or-so Title IX complaints that were filed against Oregon high schools have been dismissed by the Office of Civil Rights.  This is great news for those who support equality under the law.  Claims of discrimination supported by nothing more than quotas and innuendo should have no place in the law.     

Of course, the learned Professor over at the Title IX Blog disagrees. Under her view, "basing a prong three allegation on evidence that schools don't offer girls' sports that are popular in the state, as evidenced by their recognition by the state athletic association, is a viable one."  Let's take a moment to examine that position.  Assume Oregon sanctions sport X for girls.  Now, assume some random Oregon high school offers girls the opportunity to play sports A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H …, but does not offer sport X.  According to the Professor, that alone should be enough to make out a prima facie case of failure to comply with prong three of the Three-Part Test.  According to the Professor, that alone should be enough to spark an OCR investigation and put 100 high schools on the defensive.

This shouldn't come as a surprise to readers of the Liberty Blog.   If you remember, back in August the Title IX Blog made some ridiculous claims in its attempt to criticize the American Sports Council's case against the Department of Education.  While that case is just beginning, the latest news out of Oregon is a welcome development. Perhaps the Office of Civil Rights is finally taking to heart the concerns raised in a letter PLF sent back in February.