U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Announces Resolution of Title IX Athletics Investigation of Morgan Hill Unified School District in California

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced that Morgan Hill Unified School District in California has entered into a resolution agreement to ensure the district’s compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 with respect to the athletics program at Live Oak High School.

OCR identified compliance concerns regarding district provision of athletic opportunities for female student athletes in components of its athletic program including equipment, scheduling of game times, travel, coaching, locker room and competitive facilities, medical and training facilities, and publicity.

Evidence in the investigation included, for example, that the baseball program at the school had two fields for its exclusive use while the softball program at the school had only one softball field. The varsity baseball field also included features that the softball field lacked, such as lighting, a scoreboard, and a PA system. OCR also reviewed evidence that showed some boys’ programs enjoyed access to charter buses for transportation, whereas the girls’ programs lacked such access and may have been required to provide their own transportation to away games and matches.

OCR also had concerns that the girls’ programs, as compared to the boys’ programs, may not have had similar quality equipment, equal access to the school’s weight room and athletic trainer, equal access to the school’s athletic locker room, or equitable publicity from the school’s social media accounts. OCR also reviewed evidence suggesting that female athletes had less opportunity to receive coaching than male athletes at the school.

The resolution agreement commits the district to take the steps needed to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of sex in all of its education programs and activities, including athletics.

“Today’s resolution with Morgan Hill Unified School District addresses the disparities in the quality and availability of benefits for female athletes that OCR observed in the athletics programs at Live Oak High School,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. “Morgan Hill Unified School District has committed now to provide all its students with equivalent access to athletic opportunities regardless of sex, as Title IX has long required.”

The district’s commitments in the resolution agreement include:

• Creating committees to ensure that differences in fundraising between teams will not create disparities in athletic equipment, uniforms, or supplies based on sex.
• Renovating the school’s existing varsity softball field to include the same features as its varsity baseball field.
• Converting the school’s existing practice baseball field to a multipurpose field that can be used for softball and baseball and ensuring that the softball team has equal access to the renovated multipurpose field.
• Providing equal access to and use of locker room facilities for female athletes, including equitable access to the athletic locker room.
• Giving female athletes equivalent opportunities to receive coaching.
• Equalizing the school’s girls’ and boys’ athletics teams’ access and opportunity to use vans, buses, or charter buses for transportation to away games and matches.
• Training its employees who are involved in athletic programs about the district’s obligations under Title IX and its application to athletics. And,
• Ensuring the school’s girls’ and boys’ athletics teams have equitable access to the school’s athletic trainer, weight room, and training facilities.

The letter to the Morgan Hill Unified School District and resolution agreement are available on the Office for Civil Rights website.