Dem bill requires schools to tell the government how many girls are playing sports

“I’ve met with many Olympic gold medalists who have told me that Title IX — and the accompanying athletic scholarships it made possible — was the reason they were able to attend college and pursue their dreams,” Slaughter said in a release announcing the bill. “Any girl in America who wants to participate in athletics should be given the chance to realize their dreams, and this bill will make sure they have that opportunity.”

{mosads}Their bill — H.R. 455 in the House and S. 217 in the Senate — would direct the Secretary of Education to collect data on sports participation by gender, teams, race and ethnicity. The Department would also collect data on total expenditures for those teams.

A description of the bill said that data is already collected by schools and sent to state Departments of Education, and thus should “put a minimal burden on high schools.” Under the bill, the data would then be available to the public on the Department of Education’s website.

It said that with this information, “we can ensure that girls all over the country have the chance not only to improve their athletic ability, but also to develop the qualities of teamwork, discipline, and self-confidence that lead to success on and off the playing field.”