ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINES FOR TITLE IX

Preface

 

District 41 and the Athletic Department of Rock Island High School are committed to providing athletic opportunities and benefits to all students without regard to or discrimination based on the gender of the participants. Therefore it is the purpose of these Administrative Guidelines to set forth the District’s commitment to gender equity and to ensure compliance therewith.

A.   COACHING

1. All students participating in interscholastic athletic activities shall have equal opportunity to coaching irrespective of the gender of the participants. Coaching assignments will be made on the basis of the number of students participating and the nature and requirements of the particular sport. Male and female athletes participating in the same sport, i.e. golf, tennis, soccer, swimming, cross country, track and field, and basketball, shall be provided with comparably equivalent numbers of qualified coaches in proportion to the number of team participants.

 

2. Coaches’ salaries shall be set without regard to the gender of the participants being coached. Rather salaries shall be set pursuant to the gender neutral differential schedule as may from time to time be adopted by District 41 in agreement with the bargaining unit representing the coaching staff. The salary schedule for coaches of male and female teams participating in the same sport, i.e. golf, tennis, soccer, swimming, cross country, track and field, and basketball, shall be the same, subject only to deviation for such non-gender discriminatory factors as number of participants being coached, and extent of coaching duties.

3. It is the intent and purpose of this guideline to ensure that coaches performing the same or substantially equivalents duties and responsibilities shall be paid the same stipend for coaching, regardless of the gender of the participants being coached.

B.   LAUNDRY SERVICES

1. District 41 owns a commercial quality washer and dryer that are housed in the lower hallway of the field house concourse across from the athletic training room. All teams irrespective of the gender of the team participants may use the school laundry facilities for the laundering of practice and/or game uniforms. It is the responsibility of each team to do its own laundry. District 41 does not employ any laundry personnel.

2. District 41 shall provide end of season outside laundry service for all sports regardless of the gender of the sport participants. It shall be the coach’s responsibility to bundle all uniforms and school owned apparel at the conclusion of the sport season in preparation of delivery of the items to a commercial laundry service.

3. District 41 shall provide weekly laundry service for football game uniforms as a result of weight of the material and the excessive soil and stains accumulated on the uniforms as a result of the nature of the sport. If other sports demonstrate a similar need for frequent commercial cleaning, such a determination shall be made solely on the basis of laundry need and nature of the sport, without regard to the gender of the sport participants.

C.   EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

1. Each year the Athletic Director shall request each sport coach to submit a list of equipment and supplies desired for the sport’s next season. Equipment and supplies shall be furnished, subject to district budget constraints, based on need and without regard to the gender of sport participants. Generally, uniforms that are exposed to substantial wear and tear (such as football, baseball, and softball) shall be replaced on a four (4) year rotation irrespective of gender. Uniforms that are exposed to less wear and tear may be replaced at less frequent intervals so long as the determination regarding replacement is totally gender neutral. The average age of uniforms provided to female athletic teams shall be substantially equivalent to the average age of uniforms provided to male athletic teams.

2. Equipment and supplies for male and female teams shall be of substantially equivalent quality and provided in quantities so as to meet the reasonable needs of the sport.

3. It is recognized that students participating in some sports provide a portion of their own equipment. I.e., tennis racquets, golf clubs, baseball gloves, softball gloves, socks, shoes, bags, jackets, and some clothing. Male and female students participating in the same or similar sports shall not be required to purchase equipment substantially different in cost. For example, if girls’ tennis or golf purchases their own shirts, District 41 shall not provided free shirts to boys’ tennis or golf. If girls’ tennis or golf is expected to spend $30 or $40 on equipment, boys’ tennis or golf shall be expected also to spend $30 or $40 on equipment. Under no circumstances shall female athletes be required to purchase disproportionately more equipment and supplies necessary to their respective sports than male athletes do.

D.   GAME SCHEDULING

1.   Teams shall have the opportunity to schedule home games at “prime” or “optimal” times so as to achieve exposure of the team to the largest audiences possible and to receive the greatest amount of attention from the public and college recruiters as is possible.

2.   District 41 facilities including the swimming pool, tennis courts, stadium, gymnasium, field house, and athletic fields shall be made available to athletic teams without regard to gender. Determination as to the use of facilities shall be made based upon the following criteria:

**     In Season teams shall have priority for facility use.

1.  

   1. Facility appropriate and necessary to meet the needs of the sport.
   2. Availability of alternate facilities both to the requesting sport and to others that may be displaced by the request.
   3. Quality of the facility in appearance, convenience, and available amenities.
   4. Gender shall not be a factor in facility determinations.

3.   Each sport shall determine what “prime time” means for their sport. The athletic director periodically interviewing the sport coach and participants shall make such a determination. It is recognized that athletic contest scheduling is often done one or two years in advance. In the event a sport’s perception of “prime time” changes, scheduling shall be adjusted as soon thereafter as is practical and possible.

4.   In the event two teams are in season at the same time and each qualify under the above criteria for use of the same facility, the teams shall alternate use of the facility or, by agreement of the coaches and athletic director may reach some other accommodation to meet the needs of the teams; so long as the determination is not made upon the basis of the gender of the participants.

5.   No conference rule, regulation, policy, or procedure shall circumvent, obviate, or negate District 41’s commitment to gender neutrality regarding scheduling of contests and use of facilities.

E.   LOCKER ROOMS

1. District 41 shall provide reasonably adequate locker room facilities for all sport teams. Males and females shall be provided with substantially equivalent locker rooms with regard to relative size and quality.

2. Lockers shall be provided to each participant reasonably adequate to meet the needs of each participant’s sport.

F.   PUBLICITY SERVICES

1.   Cheerleading and pep band services shall be made available to sport teams without regard to the gender of the participants. Determination shall be made based on the desire of the particular sport and appropriateness of providing such services to the event. Appropriateness may include considerations regarding availability of performance space, nature of the sport, and size of the crowd following the activity.

2.   Based on the above, cheerleading shall be offered to  Football, Boys’ Basketball, and Girls’ basketball and such other sports as may be selected.

3.   Pep Band services shall be provided to Boys’ Basketball and Girls’ Basketball. In addition the marching band shall perform at varsity football games as part of the band’s competitive marching season activities.

4.   Pep Rallies shall be held at the beginning of each sport season. At such rallies all sport teams, male and female, for that season shall be promoted in an equal manner, one not any more prominently than the other. In addition, if a team qualifies for State tournament competition or otherwise receives high recognition and honor, a pep rally may be held to honor and support such team so long as the conducting of such rallies is consistent for both male and female teams.

5.   Schedules and promotional publications shall be provided for female sport teams comparatively equivalent to male teams. School sport calendars shall include both male and female teams. If handout schedules are prepared for male teams, similar handout schedules shall be prepared for female teams and disseminated in the same fashion as the male team schedules.

G.   TRANSPORTATION, MEALS and HOUSING

1. Transportation for athletic teams shall be provided without regard to the gender of the team. Team travel within a 90-mile radius of Rock Island shall be in school busses, unless transportation for the particular team by coach bus provides a cost savings as compared to the cost of school busses. Team travel beyond a 90-mile radius of Rock Island shall be in coach busses. Teams with fewer participants may be transported in vans. A team may upgrade from a school bus to a coach bus by paying the difference in costs out of funds raised by the particular team. Similarly, if a team qualifies for coach transportation but nevertheless elects to use school bus transportation, the cost savings shall be reserved for use by that team for other purposes.

2. District 41 does not provide “per diem” allowances or meals for athletes. In the event a team qualifies for Illinois High School Tournament competition, funds provided by the IHSA for meals or the team may use per diem allowances. Teams may use funds raised through their own fund raising activities or from bus savings to defer the cost of meals for team participants.

3. In the event the coach and athletic director determine that participants in an athletic event should go to the event the night prior to its beginning; or, should remain over night during or immediately after an athletic event, District 41 shall pay for all housing costs for team members and coaches. The determination as to whether overnight lodging is required shall not be made on the basis or the gender of the participants. Opportunities for overnight athletic trips shall be comparably equivalent for male and female athletes, based on the circumstances of the situation and not the gender makeup of the team.

 

H.   OFFICIALS

1. District 41 shall employ the services of quality, certified officials for all athletic contests irrespective of the gender of the team involved. Pay for officials shall be the same for boys’ or girls’ contests in the same or similar sport.

2. District 41 shall subscribe to and use the Western Big 6 schedule of athletic officials’ pay, which schedule is gender neutral.

I.   OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS

1. District 41 shall not make its athletic facilities available for use by any group or organization that fails to comply fully with the mandates and requirements of Title IX.

2. In the event compliance is questioned, it shall be the responsibility of the group or organization wishing to use District 41 facilities to provide documentation or other information as may be requested by District 41 so as to satisfy the District that the requesting organization is in compliance with Title IX.

3. Groups that routinely use District 41 facilities, such as the Rock Island Park Board, shall provide upon request of the district, such information and data as may be required to satisfy the District that park board programs operated on school property are gender neutral and fully comply with Title IX. Failure to provide such satisfaction shall result in termination of the organization’s use of school facilities.