High School Girl Athletes Win Major Title IX Class Action Case in U.S. District Court Against Sweetwater Union School District

In a potentially precedent-setting decision, Judge James M. Lorenz of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on Thursday ruled in favor of a group of female athletes in a Title IX class action lawsuit against the Sweetwater Union High School District. The judge determined the school district unfairly favored boys’ sports over girls’ sports at Castle Park High School (CPHS) by giving the boys better athletic facilities, resources and opportunities. The parties are to submit the proposed compliance plan within 45 days of the filing of this order.

The case, Ollier v. Sweetwater Union High School, et al., was filed in 2007 by the Legal Aid Society–Employment Law Center, California Women’s Law Center, and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. The student plaintiffs sued for injunctive relief under Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments, which bars sex discrimination in education, including athletic programs.

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