The U.S. Department of Education is responsible for enforcing Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any educational institution that receives federal funding, gives women the equal opportunity to play sports and forces schools to address issues of sexual violence and harassment.
As part of its Fifty/50 initiative, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of Title IX, ESPN sat down with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to talk about the history of the law, its current impact and the challenges ahead. Cardona, whose department plans to release revised proposed regulations around how schools respond to accusations of sexual assault, also addressed two timely issues and their Title IX implications: athletes making money from their name, image and likeness, and the debate over transgender athletes being able to compete in women’s sports. Here are excerpts from that conversation, which has been edited for length.
ESPN: As we approach the 50th anniversary of Title IX, what do you think the greatest impact of this law has been over the years?
Cardona: Access. Access. I recently had a panel discussion where I was on a panel with the great [four-time WNBA champion] Sue Bird. And she was asked this question and she said, “Access.” There’s much more access for girls and for women athletes. We have a ways to go, but access and a shift in thinking. So in 50 years, we should look back and say, if it weren’t for Title IX, we might not know of some of these amazing athletes because they might not have had the opportunity.
ESPN: What ability does the Department of Education have to proactively pursue measures to penalize or otherwise compel college athletic departments to be in compliance with the gender equity provisions of Title IX?
Cardona: A lot of conversation circles around compliance and accountability. While that’s important and we’re going to continue to do that, I also want to share that we really try to create a culture of inclusivity. We’re more proactive at the Department of Education now, reaching out, making sure that information is out there. In this last year we’ve provided handbooks on what this means for campuses, what this means for K-12 institutions. We’ve had hundreds of webinars, conversations with leaders about what it means to provide an inclusive environment for all students and provide equity.
We’re also making sure our Office for Civil Rights is engaging in those investigations. In one year we’ve completed more than 10,000 investigations out of the Office for Civil Rights. So they’re working extremely hard to try to make sure we follow up on that end of it.
ESPN: That would be the ideal, but in the cases where there isn’t compliance, what tools does the department have that can make them comply? That can force them to comply?
Cardona: Well, again, engaging with these universities, having communication with them is critical, but the Office for Civil Rights’ investigations is the tool that we use to make sure that if they’re out of compliance or if they’re breaking the law, we let them know that. And I think I’m proud of some of the progress we’ve made.
The last thing we want is: ‘We’re doing it because the feds are telling us.’ We want people to get it because it’s good for kids. So it’s really case dependent. In some places where we feel there’s an egregious rule that is discriminatory, the response might be a little bit more direct, a little bit more heavy than in a case where a school’s trying to do the right things [and] it’s struggling with the capacity to do it.
ESPN: What do you know about whether athletic departments are in compliance? What do you know about the numbers and the trends?
Cardona: We do have an equity and access website here at the Department of Education. And that helps us determine what type of proactive strategies we have to take or where a…