Fair Play for Girls in Sports is a project of the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center focusing on increasing sports opportunities for low-income girls. Girls playing competitive school sports benefit in the classroom, in the workplace (as adults), and for a lifetime. Under Title IX, girls can demand and achieve equality on their school sports teams!
What is SB 1349?
- Under SB 1349, beginning in the 2015-16 school year and every year after, all public primary, secondary, and charter schools offering competitive interscholastic sports in California must report on their school website (or district website if no school site exists) information about boys’ and girls’ athletic participation by the end of each school year.
What data must be published under SB 1349?
- Total Enrollment of Students By Gender: number of boys and girls enrolled in the school
- Athletes by Gender: number of boys and girls who play competitive sports at the school
- Teams by Gender, Sports & Level: number of boys’ and girls’ teams, classified by sport and competition level (using # of players on rosters as of the official first day of competition).
How will SB 1349 support athletic equity?
- Title IX requires that the number of athletic opportunities, for boys and girls—actual athletes participating—are proportionate to the number of girls and boys at the school. For example as school that is 51% female should have an athletic program of 51% female athletes.
- SB 1349 will strengthen Title IX enforcement by requiring schools to report on sports participation rates and opportunities by gender. Schools, as well as students and their families, will be able to track this data so as to ensure the school identifies and addresses gender gaps in athletic programs. These reports will make schools accountable for responsibilities under Title IX.
Where can I get more information?
- Please contact Fair Play for Girls in Sports [877-593-0074 (toll free) & fairplay [at] legalaidatwork.org] with questions regarding SB 1349 and/or Title IX. Full text of the law can be found below/on the next page.
Disclaimer: Please consult an attorney on any specific case, as this fact sheet does not constitute legal advice.
Full Text of the Law
(a) Commencing with the 2015–16 school year and every year thereafter, each public elementary and secondary school in the state, including each charter school, that offers competitive athletics shall publicly make available at the end of the school year all of the following information:
(1) The total enrollment of the school, classified by gender.
(2) The number of pupils enrolled at the school who participate in competitive athletics, classified by gender.
(3) The number of boys’ and girls’ teams, classified by sport and by competition level.
(b) The data required pursuant to subdivision (a) shall reflect the total number of players on a team roster on the official first day of competition.
(c) The school shall make the information specified in subdivision (a) publicly available as follows:
(1) If the school maintains an Internet Web site, by posting the information on the school’s Internet Web site.
(2) If the school does not maintain an Internet Web site, by submitting the information to its school district or, for a charter school, to its charter operator. The school district or charter operator shall post the information on its Internet Web site, and the information shall be disaggregated by schoolsite.
(d) The materials used by a school to compile the information specified in subdivision (a) shall be retained by the school for at least three years after the information is posted on the Internet pursuant to subdivision (c).
(e) As used in this section, “competitive athletics” means sports where the activity has coaches, a governing organization, and practices, and competes during a defined season, and has competition as its primary goal.