BEHIND THE BANNER
ma r2 3 EDI TION
Embracing Title IX
Educate, Advocate, Celebrate By Peg Pennepacker, CAA
June 23, 2022, marked the 50th anniversary of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 the first comprehensive law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in all programs or activities in all federally funded educational institutions. The original 37-word statute states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Title IX is patterned after Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 the portion of the landmark
law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in federally funded programs. Title IX’s origins began in 1969 when Dr. Bernice Sandler was turned down for a full-time faculty position at the University of Maryland. She was told that the reason why she was not hired for the position was because she “came on too strong for a woman”. Through her research into laws against sex discrimination, she found an amended