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Spring into Action with V is for Victory. So is IX.

	Questions from the Court Q: In these tough economic times, should schools cut sports teams to balance budgets? A: No. Although many schools are dealing with limited resources, the decision to eliminate entire sports programs to balance budgets is too quick and easy, and the Foundation urges schools to carefully examine alternative cost-saving measures. Cutting sports teams means cutting participation opportunities, and this may also put schools at risk of violating Title IX regulations. Read Maintaining Sports in Tough Economic Times for alternative funding strategies so that our daughters and sons will have the opportunities and benefits of sports.
	Work Your Way Towards Compliance! Just Released: Step-by-Step: A Practical Guide To Assessing and Achieving Gender Equity in School Sports! Our guide addresses gender disparities in sports, helping educators, parents, students and coaches understand how to become their own advocates for change. Just follow the easy, numbered steps to gender equity, making sure that a school is in Title IX compliance. If your program isn’t up to par, these practical plans will help everyone reach the goal of gender equity.
	Are You Kidding? A parent contacted our Advocacy Department for guidance: My daughter's softball team has a field (off-site by the way), but it’s nothing like boys’ baseball. We bring our own folding chairs and hide out behind a small fence to see the girls play. The boys’ field, just behind school, has bleachers. We’re grateful if the girls win and win fast, because without lights (like the boys) our games are called at dusk. Perhaps worst of all is the condition of the ground. The gopher holes make it impossible to field balls accurately, and I’m sure more than a few ankles will be twisted this spring. Does this story sound familiar? Do you have a Title IX-related story? Tell us! Submit your story, and it could be featured in our next newsletter.
	Support Athletics Data Reporting in High Schools  Female students still have 1.3 million fewer opportunities to play high school sports than male students. Help us send a message to Congress to support legislation to level the playing field for girls and women. Write your elected officials and ask them to support the bipartisan High School Sports Collection Act, which requires high schools to report basic data on the number of female and male students in their athletic programs and the expenditures of their men's and women's sports teams.