Example: Initial Advocate’s [Parent] Letter to the Athletic Director
This may be your first official letter, drawn from the work of your advocacy committee. It requires several general yet crucial components. First note the template below, which will need your particular additions in order to become a useful letter of advocacy. If you have collected signatures on a petition (Step 4), include that with your letter and the steps yet to come.
[Your Address/Contact Information]
[Date]
To [Athletic Director]:
On [date], I [observed] a [circumstance out of compliance with Title IX]. I am disappointed because our [school site] has [not performed as it should, is wrong] because [state the problem as you understand it giving as much detail as possible].
A school is obligated to ensure that it provides its male and female athletes with comparable benefits, resources and participation opportunities. [The example that follows focuses on treatment of athletes. If your group’s concern is related to opportunities to participate or funding (you want a girls’ varsity soccer team) please target that in your statement.] The treatment categories include: equipment, facilities, publicity, scheduling, coaching, travel and daily allowance, training (medical), [tutoring, recruitment, housing/dining—typically in higher education] and support services. [Add specific standard language from Step 2.]
To resolve the problem I would appreciate your [state the action you require]. Enclosed is [a copy/are copies] of the [documentation, supporting resources] that supports my concern.
I look forward to hearing from you and to a resolution of this problem. I will wait for [set a time limit] before seeking help from [the school’s Principal or Title IX Coordinator]. Please contact me at the above locale, e-mail address or by phone [give e-mail address and/or phone numbers].
Sincerely,
[Name]
A Concerned Parent
cc: [send copies to other related parties]
Now, let’s see how a sample letter looks when the text is filled in with a story drawn from our files.
1150 17th St., NW
Washington, DC 20036
Cparent@emailaddress.net
October 25, 2009
Athletic Director
Stepup High School
Dear A. Roadblock:
As a parent and sports fan of Stepup High School, I have cheered for wonderful teams and athletes over the years. However, it pains me to see some inequalities and inconsistencies occurring in athletics. As you may already know, Title IX is the portion of the Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive any federal funds. In brief:
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 educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
As I’m sure you are aware, a school is obligated to ensure that it provides its male and female athletes with comparable benefits, resources and participation opportunities. The treatment categories include: equipment, facilities, publicity, scheduling, coaching, travel and daily allowance, training (medical) and support services.
Therefore, I want to present several disparities that I have witnessed. I have done an assessment of the school and its athletic opportunities for both men and women. After filling out an online assessment with the Women’s Sports Foundation, our program’s compliance with Title IX was graded a C-. I have seen the difference in equipment quality and quantity for the girls’ teams, including overused tennis balls and cheap rubber versus leather balls for volleyball. Also the lack of adequate facilities for both tennis teams has resulted in the girls going off-site to public courts, while the boys stay here at school. I have noted that for the past four years, the girls’ basketball team has played in the same old uniforms, but the boys’ basketball team has new uniforms every other year. As someone who had a son playing varsity sports for three years, I have a unique vantage point for these comparisons.
These are just a few of the problems I have observed, and I chose to bring these issues to you so that we can rectify them quickly. I have included copies of “Play Fair: A Title IX Playbook for Victory,” a Women’s Sports Foundation publication that explains all about Title IX, a federal requirement. I know that you have the responsibility to see that changes are made and you would want our student-athletes to experience the law’s intent. I will call your office in the next five days to make an appointment so that we can determine together our next best steps.
Sincerely,
P. A. Rent
Concerned Parent
cc: The Stepup HS Title IX Advocacy Group
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