117 HRES 1202 IH: Affirming, commemorating, and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the enactment of title IX, applauding the increase in educational opportunities available to all individuals, regardless of sex or gender, and recognizing the tremendous amount of work left to be done to further increase those opportunities.
U.S. House of Representatives
2022-06-23
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Whereas in 1972, President Richard M. Nixon signed into law title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) (referred to in this preamble as title IX
); Whereas in 2002, Congress passed a joint resolution establishing that title IX may be cited as the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act
;
Whereas title IX prohibits any institution that receives Federal education funding from discriminating against students or employees on the basis of sex; Whereas sex discrimination includes discrimination based on—
(1)pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, and termination of pregnancy; (2)actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics;
(3)sex stereotypes; and (4)sex-based harassment, including sexual harassment and assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and sex-based stalking;
Whereas since 1972, the United States has made great progress in providing educational opportunities to women and girls and, in 2022, women earned the majority of doctoral, master’s, and associate degrees; Whereas in the 2020–2021 academic year, women earned approximately 60 percent of the bachelor’s degrees awarded by institutions of higher education in the United States;
Whereas since 1972, the participation of women and girls in sports has increased by 1,057 percent in high school and greater than 600 percent in college, providing women and girls with the opportunity— (1)to develop leadership and teamwork skills;
(2)to earn athletic scholarships to help finance a college degree; and (3)to become successful professional athletes;
Whereas despite the progress that has been made in higher education and athletics, women, girls, pregnant or parenting students, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and gender non-conforming (LGBTQI+) individuals in the United States are still frequently denied equal educational opportunities; Whereas pregnant and parenting students are more likely to drop out of high school compared to other students, only 50 percent of teenage mothers earn a high school diploma by the age of 22, 38 percent of Black teen mothers and 36 percent of Latina teen mothers never obtain a diploma or GED, and fewer than 2 percent of all teen mothers graduate college by age 30, leading to decreased opportunities for continuing education and employment;
Whereas a 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office found that, compared to White girls, Black girls were 5 times more likely and American Indian and Alaskan Native girls and multiracial girls were nearly 2 and a half times more likely to receive an out-of-school-suspension; Whereas the number of baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math earned by women has decreased over the past decade and, as of the 2019–2020 academic year, women earn only—
(1)39.1 percent of physical science degrees; (2)18.7 percent of computing degrees;
(3)20.9 percent of engineering degrees; and (4)42.4 percent of mathematics degrees;
Whereas despite representing 60 percent of all students enrolled in colleges and universities in the United States, women hold almost 2/3 of all outstanding student debt ($929,000,000,000 of the total $1,762,000,000,000), and the average amount of student debt owed by a woman following the completion of a baccalaureate degree is $2,700 more than the average amount of student debt owed by a man; Whereas men still hold the vast majority of leadership positions, while women make up approximately—
(1)6.4 percent of the chief executive officers of companies included in the S&P 500; (2)18 percent of Governors;
(3)31 percent of executive officers elected in statewide elections; and (4)30 percent of college and university presidents;
Whereas when data is disaggregated, women of color have lower rates of— (1)leadership positions; and
(2)science, technology, engineering, and math degrees; Whereas despite constituting a majority in their field or industry, women remain underrepresented in leadership positions and, for example, constitute—
(1)50 percent of law school graduates over the past 20 years, but only 31 percent of non-equity partners and 21 percent of equity partners at major law firms; (2)76 percent of the health care workforce, but only 27 percent of the chief executive officers of hospitals; and
(3)44 percent of all National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, Division II, and Division III student athletes, but only 14 percent of the athletic directors in Division I sports; Whereas since the enactment of title IX in 1972, inequities in participation opportunities for women and men NCAA athletes have persisted, with women having 60,000 fewer opportunities than men for the 2020–2021 school year;
Whereas women continue to experience sexual harassment and assault— (1)in elementary and secondary schools;
(2)at colleges and universities; and (3)in the workplace;
Whereas among individuals in elementary or secondary school, 1 in 4 girls will experience some form of sexual abuse before turning 18 years old, with more than 50 percent of girls in grades 7 through 12 experiencing sexual harassment; Whereas multiple studies have confirmed that—
(1)1 in 5 women and 1 in 4 transgender or gender non-conforming students are sexually assaulted on college campuses; and (2)approximately 20 percent of girls have been the victims of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault while in high school;
Whereas experiencing sexual harassment and discrimination can— (1)lead to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation; and
(2)have severe educational and financial consequences and negatively impact academic achievement, including dropping out of school; and Whereas students face pervasive discrimination and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in school, on college campuses, and in the workplace, which impedes the ability of the students to fully access the educational opportunities to which the students are entitled: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of Representatives— (1)applauds the tremendous increase in educational opportunities for women and girls, including in sports, since the passage of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.);
(2)encourages the Department of Education and the Department of Justice to protect the rights of students to have safe learning environments by working to ensure schools prevent and respond to discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex, including based on— (A)pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, and termination of pregnancy;
(B)actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics; (C)sex stereotypes; and
(D)sex-based harassment, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and sex-based stalking; and (3)recognizes the work that still remains to be done to secure the rights and opportunities guaranteed by title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) that no federally funded educational institution shall discriminate against any individual on the basis of sex.