Districts' scheduling more weekend games for boys' athletics does not violate Title IX rights, federal district court holds

An Indiana federal district court held that the scheduling of boys' basketball games on preferred days more than girls' basketball games did not violate Title IX. 

In Parker v. Indiana High School Athletic Association, 2010 WL 3944717 (S.D. Ind. 2010), the parents of two female basketball players filed suit against 14 school districts and the IHSAA, alleging the boys' basketball teams were disproportionally scheduled to play on preferred days – Fridays and Saturdays. The parents alleged that the defendants' actions violated the female basketball players' Title IX and equal protection rights.

Citing a Policy Interpretation issued in 1979 by the predecessors of the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, the court noted that "a disparity in a single program component, such as scheduling, can constitute a violation of Title IX if the disparity is 'substantial enough […] to deny equality of athletic opportunity."

The court found that the disparity in scheduling was not so substantial so as to deny the plaintiffs equality of athletic opportunity. In so holding, the court noted that being scheduled to play on non-preferred dates more than the boys' team did not deprive the plaintiff of role models or inhibit their skills development. The court also noted that the girls' team still played in the appropriate season and were not prohibited from competing in the state championship.

The court also held the IHSAA did not violate the plaintiffs' equal protection rights, since the IHSAA took no direct discriminatory action against the plaintiffs. The court rejected the plaintiffs' argument that IHSAA violated plaintiffs' equal protection rights by turning a blind eye to school districts' discriminatory scheduling practices.