Beth Ann Rosica’s writings are a mix of news, opinion and analysis.
Today marks the 54th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark civil rights law passed to protect girls and women from discrimination and ensure equal opportunities in education. For decades, Title IX has opened doors for female students, expanded athletic opportunities, and protected gender-based rights and privacy. But in a stunning reversal of its original purpose, the law is now being used by some policymakers and school districts to weaken the protections it was intended to provide, leaving many girls and women wondering who, if anyone, is still willing to defend their rights.
Enacted in 1972, Title IX broadly applies to schools, colleges and universities receiving federal funds and was intended to prohibit sex discrimination in areas such as admissions, athletics, financial aid and scholarships, academic opportunities and housing. Birch Bayh, a Democratic U.S. senator from Indiana who sponsored and authored much of the legislation, described Title IX as a way to eliminate “the continuation of devastating and unjustified discrimination against women in the American educational system.”
Senator Bayh died in 2019 and would likely be surprised, if not shocked, by current interpretations of Title IX, particularly in Pennsylvania.
Currently, in our community, female students must share bathrooms and locker rooms with male students. Girls are forced to compete with boys in high school sports, often losing out on college scholarship opportunities. Many school districts across the state have policies supporting or mandating this practice.
The situation has become so dire that some lawmakers are trying to pass the Women’s Sports Act to put an end to this nonsense interpretation of Title IX. While Democrats led the way in protecting girls and women 54 years ago, today, especially in Pennsylvania, they are failing women. Currently, Republicans, along with a few common-sense Democrats, are fighting to protect girls.
The Senate, sponsored by Republican Senator Judy Ward, passed the Save Women’s Sports resolution Work over a year ago, with every Republican vote “yes” joined by five brave Democrats. However, work on the bill has stalled due to various manipulation tactics used in the House of Representatives. Referred to by the company as “Committee Roulette”. Pennsylvania Family Councilmost Democrats in the House have spent the last year shuffling the bill to five different committees to avoid a vote by the full House.
Just last week, the House Health Committee again referred the bill to the Judiciary Committee, the same committee that sent the bill back to the Committee on Children and Youth Affairs last March. The chart below shows the antics used by some Democrats on various House committees. The bill has now been sent to five different committees and is being sent back to the same committees for a second time.
Pennsylvania Family Council Chief Strategy Officer Dan Bartkowiak outlined the chamber’s tactics.
“Five committees. Five referrals. Zero votes,” Bartkowiak said. “At this point, the House Health Committee should simply admit that they are running a game show called Committee Roulette… This is what governing looks like when political calculations matter more than transparency. If House Democrats are confident that Pennsylvanians agree with them, they should stop spinning their wheels, stop playing games with women and girls, and let their elected officials vote up or down on the Save Women’s Sports Act.”
Payton McNabb is a former college athlete who was hit in the head by a powerful spike from an opponent, resulting in a brain injury that ended her college sports career. He currently holds the position Independent Women ambassador and speaks out against boys participating in girls’ sports.
“As we celebrate the 54th anniversary of Title IX, it is disappointing that some lawmakers continue to delay votes on legislation to protect women’s sports,” McNabb said in response to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ antics. “Title IX was created to ensure equal opportunities for women and girls, and that promise depends on maintaining fair competition based on gender. As an athlete who has personally experienced the consequences of policies that ignore these differences, I believe that every girl deserves a fair and safe opportunity to compete. Delaying the vote does not change the reality that female athletes are asking their leaders to stand up for the protections Title IX was intended to provide.”
Holly Magalengo is a Bucks County mother of two teenage girls who filed a lawsuit on her daughter’s behalf because she was forced to compete against an athlete in multiple cross country and track and field events during high school. She attended a committee meeting last week with her daughters and left “furious.”
“My two daughters who participated were able to see in real time the complete failure of our democratic system,” Magalengo said. “The House Health Committee hearing revealed a disappointing failure of Democratic majority leadership. By actively avoiding a vote on this commonsense legislation, these officials are neglecting the basic responsibilities of their office.”
Magalengo works with parents across the state to aid educate people about what’s really at stake for girls and women.
“Our team remains focused on coordinating efforts with a politically diverse coalition of organizations dedicated to protecting women’s athletics and single-sex spaces. Pennsylvanians, from the far left to the moderates to the far right, are uniting around this issue. The current political climate in Harrisburg demonstrates exactly why legal challenges must continue to protect women until the Democratic majority stops stalling and sends these bills to the House for a full vote.”
Meanwhile, across Pennsylvania, girls and women regularly compete with and share bathrooms and locker rooms with boys and men, resulting in numerous complaints.
Recently, in the Upper Perkiomen School District, Jan Madeira filed a Title IX complaint because her daughter was upset after a student was allowed to utilize the girls’ bathroom in her presence. The district does not have a policy regulating the utilize of bathrooms; however, accepted practice appears to allow students to utilize the bathroom of their choice.
“Many parents are concerned about policies that allow biological males to use girls’ bathrooms because they believe these spaces should remain segregated by gender to protect the privacy and comfort of all students,” Madira said. “For many families, this is not about hostility towards a specific student; it is about recognizing that adolescent girls may feel uncomfortable sharing intimate spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms with biological males. Parents are asking school leaders to develop policies that respect the dignity of each student while maintaining the privacy, safety and parental expectations of gender-separated spaces.”
Upper Perkiomen did not respond to a request for comment, and Madera is meeting with the district today regarding the complaint she filed.
Alexis Pasternak, a Haverford School District parent, filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights regarding policy for transgender students. Unlike Upper Perkiomen, Haverford’s policy specifically mandates that transgender students be allowed to utilize the bathroom and locker room of their choice, in addition to competing on the sports team of their choice.
Pasternak is also disgusted with the House’s tactics.
“In 2022, the HB972 Women’s Sports Integrity Act passed the House and Senate. Governor Wolf ultimately vetoed it, but at least we knew where our representative stood,” Pasternak said. “Why the Olympics this time? We deserve to know where our representatives stand in 2026 and whether any of this legislation should make it to Governor Shapiro’s desk, where he also sits.”
Bruce Chambers, a resident and former superintendent of the Great Valley School Board in Chester County, also filed a federal complaint against the district over a very similar policy like Haverford’s, which allows male students to utilize the girls’ bathroom and locker room and compete on the sports team of their choice.
“Last year, I filed a civil rights complaint against the Great Valley School District after reading that the Office for Civil Rights was already investigating school districts across the country that were implementing policies identical to those in Great Valley,” Chambers said. “It is common sense to note that Title IX is about gender, not what a student or student may think. Without common sense, the Great Valley School Board has developed a policy that states that transgender or gender expansive students may use the restroom and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity and participate in sports teams and other activities that correspond to their identity, including sleeping on overnight trips.”
Both federal complaints are currently under investigation.
Fifty-four years ago, Title IX was a bipartisan promise that girls and women would no longer be treated as second-class citizens in education. Today that promise is being put to the test. The question facing Pennsylvania lawmakers is basic: Will they uphold the bill’s original purpose and protect the rights of female students, or will they continue to delay, evade and avoid responsibility? Girls across the Commonwealth deserve answers and they deserve a voice. History will remember who stood up for them and who stood in their way.
Beth Ann Rosica lives in West Chester and holds a Ph.D. in education and has dedicated her career to advocating for at-risk children and families. He deals with educational issues, including: Wide + Freedom. Contact her at [email protected].
