Title IX marks 37th anniversary

Last week marked the 37th anniversary of Title IX, a law designed to combat sex discrimination in education. It is most commonly associated with girls' access to athletics, but actually covers gender equity in many areas such as standardized testing and technology. (Learn more about the history of this "living law" at TitleX.info.)

The National Organization for Women reports that before Title IX, one in 27 girls played varsity high school sports. Thirty years later, that figure had climbed to one in 2.5. Before Title IX, athletic scholarships for women were "virtually non-existent"; by 2003, Division I schools offered women more than $1 million in scholarships.

If your daughter plays sports at a federally funded school, she is entitled to an experience equivalent to what male athletes get. If you don't think that's happening, seek help from the school's Title IX Coordinator. And if you played school sports before 1972, I'd love to hear how you think things have changed!

_{Photo: Barry Austin / Getty Images}