Title IX: 35 Years of Creating Opportunities for Girls and Women

Friday, June 22, 2007 :Legislative History of Title IX June 22, 2007 1964 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is enacted, prohibiting discrimination in employment based on race, color, sex, national origin, or religion. However, educational institutions are largely excluded from its coverage until 1972.

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1970
Congress holds first hearings on sex discrimination in higher education.

1972
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is enacted, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in all federally-assisted education programs and activities.

1974
Tower Amendment is proposed and rejected. The amendment would have exempted sports producing gross revenue or donations from Title IX compliance.

Javits Amendment is passed. An alternative to the Tower Amendment, it states that Title IX regulations must include reasonable provisions considering the nature of particular sports.

1975
U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) issues final Title IX regulations. Elementary schools are given one year to comply. High schools and colleges are given three years to comply.

Several attempts to disapprove HEW regulations and even to change Title IX itself are rejected, including a reintroduced version of the Tower Amendment.

HEW issues “Elimination of Sex Discrimination in Athletics Programs” to state school officers, superintendents, college and university presidents, and publishes it in the Federal Register.

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