On May 13, 2016, NCWGE held a briefing on “Women in STEM: Ways to Address Gender Inequity to Advance U.S. Global Competitiveness” at the Senate Dirksen Office Building.
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>> AAUW Blog about the briefing
NCWGE Celebrated the 43rd Anniversary of Title IX with a Briefing on “Congressional Support for Gender Equity in Education” in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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On April 21, 2015, NCWGE leaders wrote to officials from the District of Columbia to express concerns with the exclusion of girls from the District of Columbia Public Schools’ (DCPS) Empowering Males of Color (EMC) initiative as well as a paid internship program recently announced by Mayor Bowser as part of the DC Boys and Men of Color Initiative (BMOC). While supporting the DC effort to increase education funding and focus on the needs of children of color, the coalition expressed disappointment that both programs appear to exclude girls. NCWGE believes it is a mistake to exclude girls and that the policy likely violate Washington, D.C.’s Human Rights Act of 1977, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.
>> Read the coalition letter
NCWGE provided input to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to adopt an accountability and school improvement framework that will meaningfully improve educational equity and close achievement gaps so that all students graduate high school prepared for 21st Century post-secondary learning and careers. The coalition recommended that the federal government maintain an essential role addressing the needs of the most disadvantaged students and promoting gender equity.
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Read the coalition letter to the Senate HELP committee
Additionally, NCWGE sent a letter to all Senators urging support for amendments to Every Child Achieves Act (S.1177) including support for: 1) Sen. Blumenthal’s amendment to maintain support and technical assistance for Title IX implementation; 2) Sen. Warren’s amendment to report data that is “cross-tabulated” or segmented by more than one subgroup; 3) Sen. Murray’s high school athletic data collection amendment which will improve gender equity in interscholastic athletics and encourage compliance with Title IX; 4) Sen. Gillibrand’s amendment to increase access to important STEM opportunities for girls; 5) Sen. Udall’s amendment to require state and local education agencies to include expectant and parenting students among other vulnerable populations considered in their Title IA plans; 6 & 7) Sen. Casey’s amendment to implement the goals of the Safe Schools Improvement Act and Sen. Franken’s amendment to implement the Student Non-Discrimination Act which address threats to students’ physical and mental health and to create a positive school climate conducive to learning.
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Read the coalition letter
On January 28, 2015, NCWGE hosted a webinar for almost 100 education professionals on the recent Department of Education federal guidance to K-12 in public schools that offer or want to offer single-sex classes. In recent years, there has been a growing trend of separating public school students on the basis of sex. This trend raises serious equality and policy concerns and may violate numerous provisions of state and federal law. The webinar was moderated by Erin Prangley from the American Association of University Women and Chair of NCWGE and Lara Kaufman from the National Women’s Law Center and Vice Chair of NCWGE. Amanda Dallo, Title IX Staff Attorney at the Office for Civil Rights, US Department of Education discussed the recent Office of Civil Rights guidance on single sex education and requirements for Title IX. Dr. Sue Klien from the Feminist Majority Foundation, discussed a new report on the prevalence of schools with single sex programing and issued a call to action for more monitoring of single-sex programs in public schools. Galen Sherwin from the ACLU Women’s Rights Project discussed the science which disproves much of the problematic sex-stereotype teaching methods which are not permissible under Title IX, and yet still occurring in public single sex classrooms.
>> View the 2015 webinar
>> View the panel's Powerpoint slides:
In honor of Title IX’s 42nd anniversary, the National Coalition of Women and Girls in Education held a panel discussion on the history and role of Title IX enforcement including recent action taken by the Department of Education and White House Taskforce on Preventing Campus Sexual Assault. The discussion was held on June 19 in the Rayburn House Office Building and featured Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Lisa Maatz of AAUW, Lisalyn Jacobs of Legal Momentum, Neena Chaudhry of the National Women’s Law Center, Dana Bolger of Know Your IX, and Katie Hanna of the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence. Over 80 people attended representing 14 congressional offices and 8 senate offices.
A recent White House Task Force report produced resources to help students better understand Title IX’s role in campus sexual assault. And the newly created website NotAlone.gov details for students what responsibilities schools have under Title IX to respond to sexual violence and aims to ensure that students know their rights and how to file a complaint. The U.S. Department of Education is investigating more than 60 schools for Title IX violations related to sexual violence. When campus environments are hostile because of sexual harassment, assault, or violence, students cannot learn, and they miss out on educational opportunities. Campus sexual assault survivor Dana Bolger helped found a campaign to educate college students about their rights under Title IX. Bolger says that school officials suggested she put her education on hold until after her assailant graduated, but once she learned about Title IX, she realized that the school’s response was inappropriate. She decided to take action and complete her education.
“Historically, students have not understood that they had protections under Title IX or what those protections were,” Lisalyn Jacobs, vice president for government relations at Legal Momentum, said at the NCWGE briefing.
>> AUW’s blog reporting on the NCWGE briefing
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Read a summary of NCWGE’s hill briefing held in honor of the 41st anniversary of Title IX, "Title IX, Pregnant and Parenting Students, and ESEA: Supporting Young Parents to Achieve Their Educational Goals." It brought together teen parents, advocates, and service providers to explore the promise of Title IX's protections for pregnant and parenting students and to explain the implications of the currently pending Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act (PPSAE Act). Panelists included Anurima Bhargava, Chief of the Educational Opportunities Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and Kimberly Inez McGuire of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health; Lara S. Kaufmann of the National Women’s Law Center moderated the discussion. For more information on rights for pregnant and parenting students, read NCWGE’s report chapter on pregnant and parenting students.
The
National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education (NCWGE) is a nonprofit
organization of more than 50 groups dedicated to improving educational opportunities
for girls and women. Our mission is to provide leadership in and advocate
for the development of national education policies that benefit all women
and girls. This site provides information on our coalition, current activities,
updates on relevant federal education legislation, useful resources, and
NCWGE publications.
NCWGE was formed in 1975 by representatives of national organizations concerned about the failure to issue regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. NCWGE was successful in mobilizing strong support for publication of the Title IX regulations by the then Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
NCWGE continues
to be a major force in developing national education policies that benefit
all women and girls, providing a valuable forum to share information and
strategies to advance educational equity; advocating for women and girls regarding educational issues, including the interpretation and implementation
of Title IX; and monitoring the work of Congress and federal agencies on education policies and programs.
The National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education
is a nonprofit organization formed to educate the public about issues concerning
equal rights for women and girls in education; to monitor the enforcement
and administration of current legislation related to equal rights for women
and girls in education; to perform and publish research and analysis of
issues concerning equal rights for women and girls in education, and to
take the steps necessary and proper to accomplish these purposes.