[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1987 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1987

  To amend section 485(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make 
     information regarding men's and women's athletic programs at 
   institutions of higher education easily available to prospective 
               students and prospective student athletes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 19, 1997

   Mrs. Lowey (for herself, Mrs. Morella, Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Mrs. 
   Johnson of Connecticut, Mr. Clay, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Bonior, Ms. 
 Norton, and Ms. Kilpatrick) introduced the following bill; which was 
        referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend section 485(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make 
     information regarding men's and women's athletic programs at 
   institutions of higher education easily available to prospective 
               students and prospective student athletes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Play Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) June 23, 1997, marks the 25th anniversary of the 
        signing of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 
        U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) into law, and on that day communities 
        across the United States will honor the tremendous difference 
        such title IX has made to women and girls in our Nation.
            (2) Since enactment in 1972, such title IX has played a 
        vital role in expanding the athletic opportunities available to 
        American girls and women.
            (3) Prior to the enactment of such title IX, fewer than 
        32,000 women competed in intercollegiate athletics, women 
        received only 2 percent of schools' athletic budgets, and 
        athletic scholarships for women were practically nonexistent.
            (4) In 1997, more than 110,000 women competed in 
        intercollegiate sports, and women account for 37 percent of 
        college varsity athletes.
            (5) While such title IX has been very successful, a 
        significant gap remains between the athletic opportunities 
        available to men and the athletic opportunities available to 
        women.
            (6) According to a 1997 study by the National Collegiate 
        Athletic Association, female college athletes receive only 23 
        percent of athletic operating budgets, 38 percent of athletic 
        scholarship dollars, and 27 percent of the money spent to 
        recruit new athletes.
            (7) While women represent 53 percent of the students 
        attending institutions of higher education, women comprise only 
        37 percent of the athletes attending institutions of higher 
        education.
            (8) There is substantial evidence that women and girls who 
        participate in athletics have better physical and emotional 
        health than women and girls who do not participate, and that 
        participation in athletics can improve academic achievement.
            (9) Easily accessible information regarding the 
        expenditures of institutions of higher education for women's 
        and men's athletic programs will help prospective students and 
        prospective student athletes make informed judgments about the 
        commitment of a given institution of higher education to 
        providing athletic opportunities to male and female students 
        attending the institution.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to make information regarding men's and women's 
        athletic programs at institutions of higher education easily 
        available to prospective students and prospective student 
        athletes; and
            (2) to increase the athletic opportunities available to 
        women at institutions of higher education.

SEC. 4. INFORMATION AVAILABILITY.

    Section 485(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1092(g)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs 
        (5) and (6), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
            ``(4) Submission; report; information availability.--(A) 
        Each institution of higher education described in paragraph (1) 
        shall provide to the Secretary, within 15 days of the date that 
        the institution makes available the report under paragraph (1), 
        the information contained in the report.
            ``(B) The Secretary shall prepare a report regarding the 
        information received under subparagraph (A) for each year by 
        April 1 of the year. The report shall--
                    ``(i) summarize the information and identify trends 
                in the information;
                    ``(ii) aggregate the information by divisions of 
                the National Collegiate Athletic Association; and
                    ``(iii) contain information on each individual 
                institution of higher education.
            ``(C) The Secretary shall ensure that the report described 
        in subparagraph (B) is made available on the Internet within a 
        reasonable period of time.
            ``(D) The Secretary shall establish, within a reasonable 
        period of time, a toll-free telephone service--
                    ``(i) to provide the public with information 
                regarding reports described in subparagraph (B);
                    ``(ii) to provide the public with information 
                regarding the information received under subparagraph 
                (A); and
                    ``(iii) to respond to inquiries from the public 
                regarding the provisions of title IX of the Education 
                Amendments of 1972.
            ``(E) The Secretary shall use the information provided by 
        institutions of higher education under paragraph (1) to ensure 
        compliance with title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
            ``(F) The Secretary shall notify, not later than 180 days 
        after the date of enactment of this paragraph, all secondary 
        schools in all States regarding the availability of the 
        information reported under subparagraph (B) and the information 
        made available under paragraph (1), and how such information 
        may be accessed.
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