Colleges and universities must update Title IX regulations by Aug. 1

A look near the front entrance of Bowie State University’s campus in Prince George’s County on Nov. 22, 2023. Photo by William J. Ford

Maryland’s colleges and universities were reminded Monday that they have until Aug. 1 to update their Title IX guidelines to ensure all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, can participate in all programs.

While Monday’s presentation was made to the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents’ Intercollegiate Athletics and Student-Athlete Health and Welfare, a system vice chancellor said that a school’s failure to comply in any area could result in an institution not receiving federal money such as financial aid.

“The Department of Education has designed these regulations to help ensure that all persons … receive appropriate support if they experienced sex discrimination in schools, and that school’s procedures for investigating and resolving complaints of discrimination are accurate and fair to all involved,” said Zakiya Lee, associate vice chancellor for student affairs with the university system.

But Lee said Title IX applies to athletics in several ways, such as making sure both men’s and women’s programs are “equitable” in terms of participation, scholarships and other benefits. Some of those benefits include access to tutoring, locker room and practice facilities and recruitment.

Title IX is a federal law passed in 1972 that combats discrimination based on sex among students and employees in education programs and activities.

The latest campus changes were mandated by a U.S. Department of Education update of Title IX regulations in April to clarify that the law prohibits sex discrimination in schools for students and employees based on “sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”

Meanwhile, the Biden administration was expected to include transgender athletes in this year’s Title IX update, but that element was put on hold , according to published reports.

College athletics governing bodies have split on the question of transgender participation in sports.

The NCAA in 2022 said it would let each sport’s national or international governing body set rules for transgender participation. But the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which oversees about 83,000 student athletes in about 25 sports, approved on a transgender policy in April.

Part of that policy states those whose biological sex “is female may participate in NAIA-sponsored female sports.” A person who has begun hormone therapy may participate in workouts, practices and team activities.

“With the exception of competitive cheer and competitive dance, the NAIA created separate categories for male and female participants,” according to the policy. “Each NAIA sport includes some combination of strength, speed, and stamina, providing competitive advantages for male student-athletes. As a result, the NAIA policy for transgender student-athletes applies to all sports except for competitive cheer and competitive dance, which are open to all students.”

At least one school in Maryland – Washington Adventist University, a small private school in Takoma Park – is a member, according to the association’s website.

The university system has eight schools under its purview with athletic programs overseen by the NCAA: Bowie State; Coppin State; Frostburg State; Salisbury; Towson; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; University of Maryland, College Park; and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Each school must provide an annual report on information on gender equity of its athletic programs through the federal Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA). Those documents show Coppin State was the only institution that had an equal number of men and women – 104 – participated on various teams in 2022-23, the most recent academic year for which numbers were available.

Towson University represented the only school with more women who participated in various sports with 284, to 246 male athletes – 107 of whom were on the football team.

Tom McMillen, a member of the board’s committee and former University of Maryland basketball star, said that’s not surprising since some schools have more women than men.

“So, their athletic departments should reflect that proportion,” he said.

About one month prior to the Department of Education’s announcement, USM announced it will set up two groups to work on Title IX compliance.

One group will engage with external experts to advice the system’s Board of Regents and university leaders on best-in-class practices governing Title IX education and management, policies and procedures to guide reporting, investigation and adjudication and how to best educate students and train staff in compliance.

The second working group will assess policies guiding how and when university leaders report Title IX cases, any gaps in the reporting process and recommend any improvements to the system chancellor and to the Board of Regents.

Lee said any proposed amendments to Title IX policies will come before the full Board of Regents prior to Aug. 1.

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