[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 89 (Monday, June 23, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H4217-H4218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE 25th ANNIVERSARY OF TITLE 9 OF THE EDUCATION ACT AMENDMENTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii [Mrs. Mink] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, today marks the 25th anniversary of 
Title 9 of the Education Act Amendments of 1972 which prohibits sex 
discrimination in educational institutions receiving Federal funds. To 
commemorate the 25th anniversary of Title 9 the gentleman from Michigan 
[Mr. Bonior], the gentlewoman from New Jersey [Mrs. Roukema] and I 
along with 61 other cosponsors have introduced a concurrent resolution 
which celebrates the accomplishments of Title 9 supporting efforts to 
continue pursuing the goals of educational opportunity for women and 
girls. I will

[[Page H4218]]

ask that the resolution be printed at the end of my special order this 
evening.
  Since its enactment Title 9 has opened the doors of educational 
opportunity to literally millions of girls and women across the Nation. 
Title 9 helped tear down inequitable admission policies, increase 
opportunities for women in nontraditional fields of study such as math 
and science, law and medicine, improve vocational educational 
opportunities for women, reduce discrimination against pregnant 
students and teen mothers, protect female students from sexual 
harassment in our schools and increase athletic opportunities for girls 
and women.

                              {time}  2345

  As a member of the Education and Labor Committee in 1972, I helped to 
craft Title IX and worked diligently throughout the years to promote 
this law and fight against efforts to weaken its impact. I certainly 
consider Title IX one of my most significant accomplishments while I 
served in Congress from 1965 until 1977.
  We have heard so much in recent years about the accomplishments of 
Title IX, particularly in the area of athletics, and many do not 
realize the history of this legislation and the battles that were 
fought to keep this law intact. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary 
of Title IX, I thought it would be appropriate to share this history 
and to recount its origins, its battles and its achievements.
  The origins of Title IX began with a series of hearings on the House 
Education and Labor Committee beginning in the late 1960s and in 1970. 
In particular, there was a hearing conducted by Congresswoman Edith 
Green who was the chair then of the Special Subcommittee on Education 
which dealt with higher education matters.
  In June of 1970 the subcommittee held a hearing on legislation 
introduced by the chair Edith Green, H.R. 16098 to amend Title VI of 
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which included a prohibition against sex 
discrimination in any program or activity receiving Federal financial 
assistance.
  We have to put this initiative in the context of the times. It was 
right around that time that there was this big push for ERA, the Equals 
Rights Amendment. The women's movement was very active, pursuing all 
avenues to gain equal rights and protections in the law. Representative 
Green's bill would have provided that protection under the Civil Rights 
Act.
  At the hearing on July 3, 1970, Assistant Attorney General for Civil 
Rights, Jerris Leonard, testified before the subcommittee stating that 
quote, ``while we are not able to support this language, we suggest an 
alternative.'' He suggested that the committee should not amend Title 
VI of the Civil Rights Act, but enact separate legislation to prohibit 
sex discrimination in education only. This is the genesis of Title IX.
  The House Education and Labor Committee had a large body of evidence 
of discrimination against girls and women in our educational system. 
Since the time I came to Congress in 1965 we began systematic hearings 
on textbooks to illustrate the discrimination against girls, women, and 
also the ethnic minorities.
  We scrutinized the textbooks. We looked at the films and the books 
and other kinds of brochures that were being produced by yes, our U.S. 
Department of Education, Office of Education. We scrutinized the 
admission policies and vocational education courses which taught girls 
home economics, and essentially there were cooking courses to prepare 
girls for homemakers, while the boys learned skills in order to enter 
into careers and to sustain their future ambitions. We had to fight in 
all areas to open up opportunities for women. We had to fight for equal 
participation in the poverty program, in the Job Corps Center.
  So the proposal of the Assistant Attorney General to focus 
legislation to prohibit discrimination in education was a logical step 
for the committee to take. We had considerable debates. The Committee 
on Education finally reported the legislation in 1971, which then led 
to negotiations with the Senate and the conference committee that 
finally yielded Title IX, which is in its historic celebration today 
for its 25th anniversary.

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