High school students in Oregon are getting a first-hand taste of the double-edged sword that can be Title IX. The federal law forbids gender discrimination in education settings, and women seek to enforce it by demanding equality across the board. But when schools combine men and women to ensure the equality of professional development events, many women claim that they are being discriminated against.

Title IX Lawsuit Filed Over Decision to Combine Genders in Forestry Competitions

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) recently decided to combine genders in physical events at high school forestry competitions in the state. According to ODE's decision, these events were not “sports” that should be split along gender lines. Instead, they were “industry career development events” that could not be split by gender.

Now, the school board for Sweet Home, Oregon, has voted to file a Title IX lawsuit against the ODE to prevent their decision from going through. The board is also going to file a complaint with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in an attempt to get the federal agency to review and revise ODE's ruling that the competitions are career development events and not sports.

The Sweet Home School Board is arguing that combining boys and girls for physical events at these forestry competitions is an example of gender discrimination because it puts girls at a disadvantage.

What are Forestry Competitions?

Forestry competitions are events where schools send teams to compete against each other in a variety of lumberjacking skills. Some of these events are physical, like:

• Ax throwing
• Choker setting
• Log rolling
• Cable climbing
• Power bucking

These are all divided into men's and women's divisions. There are also two physical competitions – cable splicing and cross-cutting – that have mixed divisions.

Additionally, there are non-physical, technical events where boys and girls compete on teams, together. These include:

• Map reading
• Log scaling
• Timber cruising
• Job interviewing

School Board Would've Been Sued No Matter What It Did

It's important to remember that the whole reason for the Title IX lawsuit was a decision by the ODE that they thought would avoid a potential Title IX lawsuit. The ODE was concerned that the forestry events were not enough of a sport and so could not be split by gender.

So they decided to be safe and combine the events, and they got sued for it.

While it is purely speculative, it's worth thinking about what would have happened if the ODE had held a hearing on whether to combine the events and decided not to. They probably would've gotten sued under Title IX, anyway.

Title IX Defense and National Advisor Joseph D. Lento

Joseph D. Lento is a Title IX defense lawyer and a national Title IX advisor who represents students, faculty, and staffers who have been accused of sexual misconduct, and who knows and understands the predicament that schools have been put in by an unworkable law.

Call his law office at (888) 535-3686 or contact him online for help and legal guidance.