REPORT TITLE:
Gender Equity in Sports


DESCRIPTION:
Prohibits persons, on the basis of their sex, from being
discriminated against in any interscholastic, club, or intramural
athletics offered by a public school.  Prohibits public schools
from providing athletics separately on the basis of sex.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           826
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO GENDER EQUITY IN SPORTS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding
 
 2 a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as
 
 3 follows:
 
 4                             "CHAPTER
 
 5                    GENDER EQUITY IN SPORTS ACT
 
 6      §   -1  Interscholastic, club, and intramural athletics.
 
 7 (a)  No person, on the basis of sex, shall be excluded from
 
 8 participating in, be denied the benefits of, or be treated
 
 9 differently from another person or otherwise be discriminated
 
10 against in any interscholastic, club, or intramural athletics
 
11 offered by a public school; and no public school shall provide
 
12 athletics separately on the basis of sex.
 
13      (b)  Notwithstanding subsection (a) to the contrary, a
 
14 public school may operate or sponsor separate teams for members
 
15 of each sex if the selection for the teams is based upon
 
16 competitive skill or the activity involved is a bodily contact
 
17 sport.  When a public school operates or sponsors a team in a
 
18 particular sport for members of one sex but does not operate or
 
19 sponsor such a team for members of the other sex, and athletic
 

 
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 1 opportunities for that sex have previously been limited, members
 
 2 of the excluded sex shall be allowed to try out for the team
 
 3 offered unless the sport involved is a bodily contact sport.  For
 
 4 the purpose of this section, bodily contact sports include
 
 5 wrestling, boxing, rugby, ice hockey, football, basketball, and
 
 6 other sports in which the purpose or major activity involves
 
 7 bodily contact.
 
 8      (c)  This section shall not be construed to prohibit the
 
 9 grouping of students in physical education classes and activities
 
10 by ability as assessed by objective standards of individual
 
11 performance developed and applied without regard to sex.  When
 
12 the use of a single standard of measuring skill or progress in a
 
13 physical education class has an adverse effect on the members of
 
14 one sex, the public school shall use appropriate standards that
 
15 do not have such an effect.
 
16      (d)  A public school that operates or sponsors
 
17 interscholastic, club, or intramural athletics shall provide
 
18 equal athletic opportunity for members of both sexes.  In
 
19 determining whether equal opportunities are available, the civil
 
20 rights commission shall consider, among other factors:
 
21      (1)  Whether the selection of sports and levels of
 
22           competition effectively accommodate the interests and
 
23           abilities of members of both sexes;
 

 
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 1      (2)  The provision of equipment and supplies;
 
 2      (3)  The scheduling of games and practice times;
 
 3      (4)  Travel and per diem allowances;
 
 4      (5)  Opportunities to receive coaching and academic
 
 5           tutoring;
 
 6      (6)  Assignment and compensation of coaches and tutors;
 
 7      (7)  The provision of locker room, practice, and competitive
 
 8           facilities;
 
 9      (8)  The provision of medical and training facilities and
 
10           services;
 
11      (9)  The provision of housing and dining facilities and
 
12           services; and
 
13     (10)  Publicity.
 
14 Unequal aggregate expenditures for members of each sex or unequal
 
15 expenditures for male and female teams, if a public school
 
16 operates or sponsors separate teams, do not constitute a
 
17 violation of this section, but the civil rights commission shall
 
18 consider the failure to provide necessary funds for teams for one
 
19 sex in assessing equality of opportunity for members of each sex.
 
20      (e)  A public school may provide separate toilet, locker
 
21 room, and shower facilities on the basis of sex, but the
 
22 facilities shall be comparable to the facilities provided for
 
23 students of the other sex.
 

 
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 1      §   -2  Advisory commission on gender equity in sports.(a)
 
 2 There is established within the department of labor and
 
 3 industrial relations for administrative purposes only, an
 
 4 advisory commission on gender equity in sports.  The advisory
 
 5 commission shall consist of eleven members.  The superintendent
 
 6 of education shall appoint three members:  two shall be athletic
 
 7 directors at public high schools and one may be a member at-
 
 8 large.  The president of the University of Hawaii shall appoint
 
 9 two members who are athletic directors at universities that offer
 
10 scholarships for athletes in major sports.  The executive
 
11 director of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools shall
 
12 appoint two members who shall be athletic directors at private
 
13 high schools.  The governor shall appoint two members from a list
 
14 of nominees submitted by the speaker of the house of
 
15 representatives, and shall appoint two members from a list of
 
16 nominees submitted by the president of the senate.  The
 
17 appointing and nominating authorities shall coordinate their
 
18 appointments and nominations to ensure that the advisory
 
19 commission represents, to the maximum extent possible, the
 
20 gender, racial, and ethnic diversity of the State.
 
21      (b)  By July 1, 2000, the advisory commission shall define
 
22 equity in athletics for all public schools, grades kindergarten
 
23 to twelve, and shall recommend to the superintendent of education
 

 
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 1 rules for appropriate enforcement mechanisms to ensure equity.
 
 2 The recommendations shall include:
 
 3      (1)  A determination of an equitable rate of participation
 
 4           of males and females in athletics at public schools;
 
 5           and
 
 6      (2)  A determination of the appropriate consideration of
 
 7           revenues when making decisions about the equitable use
 
 8           of funds for support of athletic activities.  In making
 
 9           this determination, the advisory commission shall
 
10           consider all funds received and expended for athletic
 
11           promotion or support, including revenues from direct-
 
12           support organizations.
 
13      (c)  Based upon the recommendations of the advisory
 
14 commission, the board of education shall develop and implement
 
15 enforcement mechanisms with appropriate penalties to ensure that
 
16 public schools comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments
 
17 of 1972 and section    -1.  The department of education may not
 
18 force a public school to conduct, nor penalize a public school
 
19 for not conducting, a program of athletic activity for female
 
20 athletes unless it is an athletic activity approved for women by
 
21 a nationally recognized association whose purpose is to promote
 
22 athletics, and a conference or league exists to promote
 
23 interscholastic competition for women in that athletic activity.
 

 
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 1      §   -3  Penalties.  Beginning July 1, 2000, the civil rights
 
 2 commission shall penalize a public school that is found to be out
 
 3 of compliance with the rules of the board of education adopted
 
 4 pursuant to this chapter.  To penalize the public school, the
 
 5 civil rights commission shall:
 
 6      (1)  Declare the public school ineligible for competitive
 
 7           state grants; and
 
 8      (2)  Direct the comptroller to withhold general funds
 
 9           sufficient to obtain compliance from the public school.
 
10           The public school shall remain ineligible and the funds
 
11           shall not be paid until the school comes into
 
12           compliance or the civil rights commission approves a
 
13           plan for compliance.
 
14      §   -4 Remedies.  A person aggrieved by a violation of this
 
15 chapter or a violation of a rule adopted under this chapter has a
 
16 right of action for such equitable relief as the court may
 
17 determine.  The court may also award reasonable attorney's fees
 
18 and court costs to a prevailing party.
 
19      §   -5  Applicability.  This chapter shall apply to all
 
20 public schools as defined in section 302A-101."
 
21      SECTION 2.  If any provision of this Act, or the application
 
22 thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
 
23 invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of
 

 
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 1 the Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision
 
 2 or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are
 
 3 severable.
 
 4      SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
 5 
 
 6                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________