In 2008, AAUW member Cindy Wolff noticed that there were more sports opportunities for boys than girls at her daughter’s high school in Chico, California. After realizing that the school was likely not complying with Title IX, which guarantees gender equality in educational opportunities, Wolff set up a series of meetings with school officials to bring the inequity to their attention. Her meetings went nowhere, so she worked with the AAUW Chico (CA) Branch to file a report with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights in 2010.
In late June 2012, OCR released a report stating that the school district was not compliant with Title IX and must institute changes. The report was widely publicized, and the whole community is working to ensure that the school becomes compliant. After the investigation, both high schools in the Chico school district are offering additional girls’ teams as well as improved fields, better game times, and additional training and support for the Title IX district coordinator. AAUW’s Title IX Compliance: Know the Score Program in a Box was a helpful tool for Wolff and her branch as they successfully advocated for equity.