Patsy T. Mink and Louise M. Slaughter Gender Equity in Education Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2186 To support educational entities in fully implementing title IX and reducing and preventing sex discrimination in all areas of education, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 23, 2021 Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. SMITH, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To support educational entities in fully implementing title IX and reducing and preventing sex discrimination in all areas of education, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Patsy T. Mink and 4 Louise M. Slaughter Gender Equity in Education Act of 5 2021’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2186 IS (1) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) (in this Act referred 2 to as ‘‘title IX’’) and the implementing regulations 3 of title IX prohibit sex discrimination in federally 4 funded education programs and activities. 5 (2) Although title IX requires that schools treat 6 students equally with regard to athletic participation 7 opportunities, athletic scholarships, and the benefits 8 and services provided to athletic teams, female par- 9 ticipation rates, especially for girls of color, lag far 10 behind male participation rates. Nationally, for ex- 11 ample, boys receive more than 1,130,000 more op- 12 portunities to play high school sports than girls. 13 (3) Furthermore, a recent study from the Wom- 14 en’s Sports Foundation found that African-American 15 youth and youth from low-income households were 16 least likely to be current players (35 percent, and 28 17 percent respectively) and most likely to have never 18 played sports (49 percent, and 54 percent respec- 19 tively) compared to others. These disparities were 20 especially prominent for girls from low-income fami- 21 lies (25 percent current players, 58 percent never 22 played) and African-American families (28 percent 23 current players, 55 percent never played). The gaps 24 in participation in high school sports have not sig- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2186 IS nificantly narrowed in the past 20 years—with 40 1 percent of predominantly minority-serving high 2 schools having large gaps between the percentage of 3 spots on teams for girls and the percentage of stu- 4 dents who are girls (compared to only 16 percent of 5 predominantly White high schools that have such 6 gaps). 7 (4) Female student athletes have been found to 8 have higher levels of self-esteem, as well as reduced 9 risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporo- 10 sis, and breast cancer, compared to those who do not 11 play sports. In addition, female student athletes are 12 more likely to graduate from high school than fe- 13 male students who do not play sports. Girls who play 14 sports in high school go on to earn 7 percent higher 15 annual wages than those who do not play sports, 16 and are more likely to enter the labor force and pur- 17 sue higher-skill, previously male-dominated positions. 18 Generally, sports participation for women is associ- 19 ated with a lower prevalence of experiencing intimate 20 partner violence, reinforcing that athletic access not 21 only strengthens health, educational, and workplace 22 outcomes, but also personal safety. 23 (5) Although the availability of athletic scholar- 24 ships facilitates access to higher education, many in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2186 IS stitutions of higher education fail to award propor- 1 tional athletic financial aid to women, which can af- 2 fect their long-term employment outcomes and eco- 3 nomic security. According to the Department of 4 Education’s Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act data 5 from 2019, male athletes at NCAA Division I and 6 II schools received $240,000,000 more in athletic 7 scholarships than female athletes at those schools. 8 (6) Although title IX ensures gender equity in 9 career and technical education, women are severely 10 underrepresented in fields nontraditional to their 11 gender. A recent study by the National Coalition for 12 Women and Girls in Education indicated that 13 women make up more than 80 percent of workers 14 with training or certification in historically women- 15 dominated occupations that pay less than $30,000 16 per year, including child care, early childhood edu- 17 cation, home care, and cosmetology. Women rep- 18 resent less than 40 percent of workers trained or 19 certified in high-paying and historically male-domi- 20 nated fields, including transportation, advanced 21 manufacturing, and construction. 22 (7) Although title IX ensures gender equity in 23 the fields of science, technology, engineering, and 24 mathematics (in this section referred to as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2186 IS ‘‘STEM’’) education, women are disproportionately 1 lost at nearly every stage of the STEM pipeline. A 2 recent report by the National Center for Education 3 Statistics showed that women earned only 32 per- 4 cent of all STEM degrees in 2017, and nearly 1⁄2 of 5 these women were White. Women of color earned 6 about 12 percent of STEM degrees in that same 7 year. Furthermore, in STEM fields where women 8 are particularly underrepresented, such as com- 9 puting and engineering, women earned an even 10 smaller percentage of degrees, including only 19 per- 11 cent of computing bachelor’s degrees, and 21 per- 12 cent of engineering bachelor’s degrees. 13 (8) Although title IX prohibits sex discrimina- 14 tion in employment in federally funded education 15 programs, a recent report by the American Associa- 16 tion of University Women found that women com- 17 prise only 36 percent of tenured faculty and 30 per- 18 cent of university presidents. A similar study by the 19 National Science Foundation confirmed that women 20 only hold 34 percent of all tenured and tenure-track 21 positions, and 27 percent of full professor positions 22 in STEM fields. Furthermore, Black and Latina 23 women, together, hold only 4 percent of all tenured 24 and tenure-track positions, and barely over 2 percent 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2186 IS of full professor positions in STEM fields. Asian- 1 American women hold around 5 percent of all 2 tenured and tenure-track positions, and less than 3 3 percent of full professor positions in STEM fields. 4 (9) Although title IX protects against sexual 5 and sex-based harassment and violence, more than 6 50 percent of girls and 40 percent of boys in grades 7 7 through 12 experience sexual harassment each 8 year, and approximately 10 percent of high school 9 students experience dating violence each year. A re- 10 cent GLSEN report indicated that 87 percent of les- 11 bian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and ques- 12 tioning (referred to in this section as ‘‘LGBTQ’’) 13 students have experienced harassment or assault 14 based on a personal characteristic, and nearly 66 15 percent have experienced LGBTQ-related verbal har- 16 assment at school based on sexual orientation. Re- 17 search has shown that LGBTQ students who experi- 18 ence harassment at school are more likely to experi- 19 ence depression and anxiety, to engage in unhealthy 20 and antisocial behaviors, and to have more unex- 21 cused absences from school. 22 (10) Although title IX prohibits discrimination 23 on the basis of pregnancy or parenting status, the 24 limited availability of accommodations, including lac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2186 IS tation accommodations, excused absences for preg- 1 nancy-related medical conditions, and child care 2 needs (including caring for a sick child) is a leading 3 reasons that parenting mothers drop out of high 4 school. A recent report by the National Women’s 5 Law Center indicated that only half of teenage 6 mothers earn a high school diploma by the age of 7 22, compared with 89 percent of women who do not 8 have a child during their teenage years, and that 9 one-third of young mothers will never get a diploma 10 or GED, further limiting continuing opportunities 11 for education and employment. 12 (11) Although title IX protects against dis- 13 crimination based on stereotypes of actual or per- 14 ceived sex, many people carry implicit or uncon- 15 scious biases that can unintentionally influence atti- 16 tudes, beliefs, behaviors, and decision-making proc- 17 esses. Research has shown that unconscious biases 18 can impact classroom environments, teaching meth- 19 ods, student evaluations, disciplinary practices, and 20 career and counseling guidance, which can lead to 21 discrimination against students based on race, color, 22 national origin, and disability, particularly for stu- 23 dents who are pursuing nontraditional fields. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2186 IS (12) Nationally, the Feminist Majority Founda- 1 tion has estimated at least 100,000 title IX coordi- 2 nators are needed, but a recent report only identified 3 23,000 title IX coordinators in 2016. The Feminist 4 Majority Foundation has found that schools serving 5 children in prekindergarten through grade 12 rarely 6 have their own title IX coordinators. 7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 8 In this Act: 9 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen- 10 tary school’’, ‘‘institution of higher education’’, 11 ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, and 12 ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the meanings given 13 those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 14 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 15 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 16 the Director of the Office for Gender Equity estab- 17 lished under section 5(a). 18 (3) EDUCATIONAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘edu- 19 cational entity’’ means any of the following entities 20 that receive Federal funds: 21 (A) A State educational agency. 22 (B) A local educational agency. 23 (C) An institution of higher education. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2186 IS (D) An elementary school or secondary 1 school. 2 (4) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 3 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear- 4 ance, mannerisms, or other gender-related character- 5 istics of an individual, regardless of the individual’s 6 designated sex at birth. 7 (5) NATIONAL GENDER EQUITY INFRASTRUC- 8 TURE.—The term ‘‘national gender equity infra- 9 structure’’ means the horizontal and vertical net- 10 work of title IX coordinators and their allies who 11 work to advance gender equity and eliminate dis- 12 crimination in the United States. 13 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of Education. 15 (7) SEX.—The term ‘‘sex’’ includes— 16 (A) a sex stereotype; 17 (B) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related 18 medical condition; 19 (C) sexual orientation or gender identity; 20 and 21 (D) sex characteristics, including intersex 22 traits. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2186 IS (8) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 1 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 2 or bisexuality. 3 (9) TITLE IX COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘title 4 IX coordinator’’ means a responsible employee, as 5 described in section 106.8(a) of title 34, Code of 6 Federal Regulations, or successor regulations, des- 7 ignated to coordinate efforts under title IX of the 8 Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et 9 seq.). 10 SEC. 4. PURPOSES. 11 The purposes of this Act are to— 12 (1) advance gender equity in education in the 13 United States; 14 (2) support educational entities so that such en- 15 tities have the support to fully implement title IX; 16 (3) provide title IX coordinators with training, 17 technical assistance, and support to fully carry out 18 their roles and responsibilities; 19 (4) increase general awareness about the rights 20 and obligations of individuals and entities under title 21 IX; 22 (5) identify, implement, and disseminate best 23 practices for reducing and preventing sex discrimina- 24 tion in all areas of education; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2186 IS (6) promote educational environments that are 1 safe and free of sexual and sex-based bullying, har- 2 assment, and violence; 3 (7) promote equity in education for students 4 who face discrimination based on multiple character- 5 istics, including— 6 (A) race and color; 7 (B) ethnicity; 8 (C) national origin; 9 (D) disability status; 10 (E) religion; 11 (F) age; or 12 (G) actual or perceived sex; and 13 (8) promote activities that strengthen the na- 14 tional gender equity infrastructure. 15 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OFFICE FOR GENDER EQ- 16 UITY. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish an 18 Office for Gender Equity. The Director of the Office for 19 Gender Equity shall be the Special Assistant for Gender 20 Equity, as authorized under section 202(b)(3) of the De- 21 partment of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 22 3412(b)(3)). The Director of the Office for Gender Equity 23 shall report directly to the Secretary. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2186.IS S2186 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2186 IS (b) DUTIES.—The Office for Gender Equity shall be 1 responsible for the following: 2 (1) Supporting educational entities in the full 3 implementation of title [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]