This will come as a surprise to absolutely no one but Montgomery County Schools is NOT in compliance with the Office of Civil Rights in the Title IX scandal.
And the OCR says so.
Proof:
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Pertinent bits:
The District submitted a spreadsheet reflecting that during January and February 2014, the District conducted interviews with all of the high school’s nineteen coaches. The coaches were asked questions regarding quality and availability of facilities in the Fieldhouse and the Barn. OCR notes that the coach interviews indicate:
— Six coaches indicated that the Barn facility is in need of “updating” and “additional weights,” specifically including barbells, dumbbells, leg machines, squat racks, and new flooring;
— None of the coaches feels that any specific athletic program or team has exclusive use of a particular faciliity;
— Five coaches indicated that priority use of facilities is contingent upon which programs are in-season; and
— All coaches feel they have equal and fair access to a trainer, at both facilities.
While OCR acknowledges the District’s progress in completing its self-assessment, OCR finds that the self-assessment required by Action Step 2 is incomplete. The documentation submitted by the District does not demonstrate that coaches were asked about differences between the quality and availability of facilities between the boys’ and girls’ programs; the District did not report which programs or teams must share the Fieldhouse and the Barn; and the District did not show that the high school’s athletes were given the opportunity to provide input, as required by the Agreement. Further, the District did not provide a written report regarding its assessment of the medical and training facilities. As explained in Reporting Requirement 8(a), the report should include: a description of the process used in conducting the District’s evaluations; any information obtained, including documentation considered; its conclusions; and the District’s plan, if any, to ensure that the boy’s and girls’ programs are provided with comparable access to the medical and training facilities. If the District finds that girls and boys have comparable access to medical and training facilities and services, the District’s reports should explain how that conclusion was reached.
Based on this information, ORC concludes that the District has not completed the requirements of Action Step 2 or Action Step 3. OCR requests that the District provide further documentation demonstrating that the District has continued its self-assessment to include the items described above, and developed a plan, if necessary, to address an incompatibility. The District should submit this information by September 30, 2014.
-SNIP-
Action Step 4 of the Agreement required the District to distribute a memorandum to all high school staff and administrators reminding them of their obligation to comply with Title IX. The memorandum must specifically state that Title IX prohibits the District from discriminating on the basis of sex in any education program or activity. The memorandum must also remind the staff and administrators of their obligations to apply the District’s policies and/or practices for assigning students to classes, including the Strength, Speed, and Acceleration class, in a consistent manner to all students without regard to their sex in accordance with Title IX.
The District submitted a copy of a January 23, 2014 memorandum (“Superintendent’s Memo #42″) to demonstrate compliance with Action Step 4. The memorandum reminds recipients of their obligation to comply with Title IX, specifically states that Title IX prohibits the District from discriminating on the basis of sex in any education program or activity, and reminds recipients of their obligations regarding assigning students to classes. The District also submitted documentation demonstrating that District Superintendent emailed this memorandum to high school administration on January 23, 2014.
The Agreement required the District to distribute the memorandum to all high school administrators and staff, and the District has not provided documentation to demonstrate that all high school staff members received the memorandum. The report submitted by the District shows that the memorandum was only distributed to several administrators at the high school. Therefore OCR cannot determine that this Action Step is complete…
Still wondering why Montgomery County can’t have nice things?
You can thank Joshua Powell and his crew.
And the board for refusing to hold them accountable.
