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[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 201 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 201

   Affirming the importance of title IX, applauding the increase in 
educational opportunities available to women and girls, and recognizing 
the tremendous amount of work left to be done to further increase those 
                             opportunities.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 2017

Mrs. Murray (for herself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. 
Booker, Mr. Brown, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, Mr. Coons, Ms. 
 Duckworth, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Franken, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Harris, 
  Ms. Hassan, Ms. Heitkamp, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
Leahy, Mr. Markey, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Peters, Mr. Reed, Mr. 
   Sanders, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Udall, Ms. 
  Warren, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Murphy, and Ms. 
Cortez Masto) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
        the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
   Affirming the importance of title IX, applauding the increase in 
educational opportunities available to women and girls, and recognizing 
the tremendous amount of work left to be done to further increase those 
                             opportunities.

Whereas in 1972 President Richard M. Nixon signed into law title IX of the 
        Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) (referred to in 
        this preamble as ``title IX'');
Whereas in 2002 Congress passed a joint resolution establishing that title IX 
        may be cited as the ``Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education 
        Act'';
Whereas title IX prohibits any institution that receives Federal education 
        funding from discriminating against students or employees on the basis 
        of sex;
Whereas sex discrimination includes--

    (1) gender-based violence;

    (2) sexual harassment and assault;

    (3) dating violence; and

    (4) domestic violence;

Whereas title IX guarantees--

    (1) equal educational opportunities for all students, including 
pregnant or parenting students and gender non-conforming students; and

    (2) protection for students from discrimination on the basis of actual 
or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity;

Whereas, since 1972, the United States has made great progress in providing 
        educational opportunities to women and girls, and in 2015 women earned 
        the majority of doctoral, master's, baccalaureate, and associate 
        degrees;
Whereas, since 1972, the participation of women and girls in sports has 
        increased by 1,000 percent in high school and greater than 500 percent 
        in college, providing women and girls with the opportunity--

    (1) to develop leadership and teamwork skills;

    (2) to earn athletic scholarships to help finance a college degree; and

    (3) to become successful professional athletes;

Whereas, despite the progress that has been made in higher education and 
        athletics, women, girls, pregnant or parenting students, and gender non-
        conforming students in the United States are still frequently denied 
        equal educational opportunities;
Whereas the number of baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering, 
        and math earned by women has decreased over the past decade, and women 
        earn only--

    (1) 39 percent of physical science degrees;

    (2) 18 percent of computing degrees;

    (3) 19 percent of engineering degrees; and

    (4) 43 percent of mathematics degrees;

Whereas women of color earn only 6 percent of computing degrees and 3 percent of 
        engineering degrees at the baccalaureate level;
Whereas, despite representing 56 percent of all those enrolled in colleges and 
        universities in the United States, women hold almost \2/3\ of all 
        outstanding student debt, and the average of student debt owed by women 
        following the completion of a baccalaureate degree is $1,500 more than 
        the average of student debt owed by men;
Whereas there are approximately 64,000 fewer opportunities for women to 
        participate in college sports compared to men, and in 2015, women made 
        up only 37 of the 313 athletic directors in Division I sports;
Whereas multiple studies have confirmed that 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted 
        on college campuses and approximately 20 percent of girls have been the 
        victims of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault while in high 
        school;
Whereas more than 50 percent of girls in grades 7 through 12 experience sexual 
        harassment and 10 percent of high school students experience dating 
        violence each year, which can--

    (1) lead to symptoms of depression and anxiety and unhealthy and 
antisocial behaviors; and

    (2) negatively impact academic achievement;

Whereas men still hold the vast majority of school leadership positions, and 
        women make up approximately--

    (1) 35 percent of full professors at degree-granting postsecondary 
institutions;

    (2) 26 percent of college and university presidents; and

    (3) 27 percent of school district superintendents;

Whereas pregnant and parenting students are more likely to drop out of high 
        school compared to other students, and only 51 percent of mothers under 
        the age of 20 earn a high school diploma by the age of 22, leading to 
        decreased opportunities for continuing education and employment;
Whereas students face pervasive discrimination and harassment in school, on 
        college campuses, and in the workforce on the basis of sexual 
        orientation and gender identity, which--

    (1) impedes the ability of the students to fully access the educational 
opportunities to which the students are entitled; and

    (2) constitutes sex discrimination; and

Whereas between 2011 and 2016, investigations by the Office for Civil Rights at 
        the Department of Education into reports of sexual and dating violence 
        and discrimination against transgender students have helped to identify 
        and respond to systemic issues of discrimination against students that 
        otherwise would have gone unrecognized, yet recent actions from the 
        Office for Civil Rights indicate there will be fewer resources and less 
        attention focused on these issues moving forward: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) applauds the tremendous increase in educational 
        opportunities for women and girls, including in sports, since 
        the passage of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 
        U.S.C. 1681 et seq.);
            (2) encourages the Department of Education and the 
        Department of Justice to protect the rights of students to have 
        safe learning environments by working to ensure schools prevent 
        and respond to discrimination and harassment on the basis of 
        sex, including--
                    (A) sexual assault;
                    (B) harassment;
                    (C) domestic and dating violence;
                    (D) discrimination or harassment on the basis of 
                pregnancy;
                    (E) sex stereotyping; and
                    (F) discrimination or harassment on the basis of 
                actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender 
                identity; and
            (3) recognizes the work that still remains to be done to 
        secure the promise of title IX of the Education Amendments of 
        1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) that no federally funded 
        educational institution shall discriminate against any person 
        on the basis of sex.
                                 <all>
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