02-28288. Secretary of Education's Commission on Opportunity in Athletics; Meeting

AGENCY:

Secretary of Education's Commission on Opportunity in Athletics; Department of Education.

ACTION:

Notice of open meeting.

SUMMARY:

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a forthcoming public meeting of the Secretary of Education's Commission on Opportunity in Athletics (the Commission). The Commission invites comments from the public regarding the application of current Federal standards for ensuring equal opportunity for men and women and boys and girls to participate in athletics under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”). The meeting will take place in San Diego, California.

Individuals who will need accommodations for a disability in order to attend the meetings should notify the Commission office no later than November 13, 2002. We will attempt to meet requests after this date, but cannot guarantee availability of the requested accommodation. The meeting site is accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Notice of this meeting is required under section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

DATES:

November 20-21, 2002.

Location: Wyndham San Diego at Emerald Park Hotel, 400 West Broadway, San Diego, California, 92101.

Times: November 20: 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 2 p.m.-5 p.m. November 21: 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Meeting Format: This meeting will be held according to the following schedule:

1. Date: November 20, 2002, Time: 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 2 p.m.-5 p.m.

2. Date: November 21, 2002, Time: 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Attendees: If you would like to attend any or all of the above listed meetings, we ask that you register with the Commission office by email or fax to the address listed under ADDRESSES. Please provide us with your name and contact information.

Participants: The meeting scheduled for November 20, 2002, will begin with presentations from panels of invited speakers. After the presentations by invited speakers, there will be time reserved for comments from the public.

The meeting scheduled for November 21, 2002, will consist of review and discussion by the Commissioners of the information from the previous public meetings in preparation for the Commission's forthcoming report to the Secretary of Education. The public is invited to observe this meeting; however there will not be opportunity for public comment.

If you are interested in participating in the public comment period to present comments on the Federal standards for ensuring equal opportunity for men and women to participate in athletics under Title IX at this meeting, you are requested to reserve time on the agenda of the meeting by contacting the Commission office by email or fax.

We request that you submit a request to the Commission office by email or fax. Please include your name, the organization you represent if appropriate, and a brief description of the issue you would like to present. Participants will be allowed approximately three to five minutes to present their comments, depending on the number of individuals who reserve time on the agenda. At the meeting, participants are also encouraged to submit two written copies of their comments. Persons interested in making comments are encouraged to address the issues and questions discussed under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

Given the expected number of individuals interested in providing comments at the meetings, reservations for presenting comments should be made as soon as possible. Persons who are unable to obtain reservations to speak during the meetings are encouraged to submit written comments. Written comments will be accepted at each meeting site or may be mailed to the Commission at the address listed under ADDRESSES.

In addition to making reservations, individuals attending the public meetings, for security purposes, must be prepared to show photo identification in order to enter the meeting location.

Request for Written Comments: In addition to soliciting input during the public meetings, we invite the public to submit written comments relevant to the Commission.

DATES:

We would like to receive your written comments on the Act by November 29, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Submit all comments to the Commission using one of the following methods:

1. Internet. We encourage you to send your comments through the Internet to the following address: [e-mail].

2. Mail. You may submit your comments to The Secretary of Education's Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., ROB-3 Room 3060, Washington, DC 20202. Due to delays in mail delivery caused by heightened security, please allow adequate time for the mail to be received.

3. Facsimile. You may submit comments by facsimile at [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

See the Commission address under the ADDRESSES section of this notice. View the Commission's web site at: http://www.ed.gov/​inits/​commissionsboards/​athletics. The Commission office number is 202-708-7417.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The nation is commemorating the 30th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, the landmark legislation prohibiting recipients of Federal funds from discriminating on the basis of sex. Since this legislation was enacted, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women participating in athletics at the high school and college levels. The Secretary of Education has determined that this anniversary provides an appropriate time to review the application of Title IX to educational institutions' efforts to provide equal opportunity in athletics to women and men. In order to do so, the Secretary established the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics. The Commission will produce a report no later than January 31, 2003, outlining its findings relative to the opportunities for men and women in athletics in order to improve the effectiveness of Title IX.

Comments are encouraged on the following priority areas:

1. Are Title IX standards for assessing equal opportunity in athletics working to promote opportunities for male and female athletes?

2. Is there adequate Title IX guidance that enables colleges and school districts to know what is expected of them and to plan for an athletic program that effectively meets the needs and interests of their students?

3. Is further guidance or are other steps needed at the junior and senior high school levels where the availability or absence of opportunities will critically affect the prospective interests and abilities of student athletes when they reach college age?

4. How should activities such as cheerleading or bowling factor into the analysis of equitable opportunities?

5. How do revenue producing and large-roster teams affect the provision of equal athletic opportunities? The Department has heard from some parties that whereas some men athletes will “walk-on” to intercollegiate teams—without athletic financial aid and without having been recruited—women rarely do this. Is this accurate and, if so, what are its implications for Title IX analysis?

6. In what ways do opportunities in other sports venues, such as the Olympics, professional leagues, and community recreation programs, interact with the obligations of colleges and school districts to provide equal athletic opportunity? What are the implications for Title IX?

7. Apart from Title IX enforcement, are there other efforts to promote athletic opportunities for male and female students that the Department might support, such as public-private partnerships to support the efforts of schools and colleges in this area?

Electronic Access to This Document

You may view this document, as well as all other Department of Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: www.ed.gov/​legislation/​FedRegister.

To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC, area at [phone].

Note:

The official version of this document is published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/​nara/​index.html.

Dated: November 1, 2002.

Rod Paige,

Secretary of Education.