Congress'l Hearings Set on Sex Discrimination Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit PR Newswire 10/22/97 http://www.prnewswire.com Women of Congress to Hold Hearings on Title IX On Eve of Congressional Recess Attacks Mount Against Historic Sex Discrimination Law WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- As Congress prepares for recess next week, stealth attacks are underway against a host of gender equity legislation. Targeted are Title IX through D.C. Vouchers, the Women's Educational Equity Act, Title IV of the Civil Rights Act, Sex Equity in Vocational Education, and eliminating gender bias-free education as a goal through block grants. Ironically, on the heels of the recent White House and the Department of Education celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Title IX -- the landmark bill prohibiting sex discrimination in education -- the Congressional Women's Caucus is holding hearings to salvage support and funding necessary to implement these laws. The hearings will take place on Wednesday October 22nd in the Rayburn Building, Room 2128 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Caucus, under the leadership of Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick will hear testimony from academics, lawyers, coaches, and athletes on Title IX's impact to date on eliminating sex discrimination in education and the potential setbacks to fully implementing the law if federal funding is withdrawn. The American Association of University Women, the National Women's Law Center, and Women Work! among others, will focus on the broad reach of the laws -- from creating a gender-fair classroom free of sexual harassment to eliminating gender bias in vocational education programs. "Too few people realize the breadth of Title IX," said Dr. Janice Weinman, Executive Director of the American Association of University Women. "Title IX is more than sports. To reduce the law to a simple equation of counting basketballs grossly understates its impact on and off the court. Title IX is the watchdog for equitable opportunities in the classroom, financial aid, college admissions, and career preparation. If Congress succeeds in its backdoor tactic of starving our watchdog while the rest of the nation sleeps, our daughters and sons lose out." Fact sheets on threatened legislation, past reports on gender equity in education, along with a report card on Title IX will be made available to the press. In 1992, the American Association of University Women released How Schools Shortchange America, a groundbreaking report on gender equity in America's public schools. Twenty years after the passage of Title IX, the report found pervasive gender bias. SOURCE American Association of University Women CONTACT: Gabrielle Cassell Lange or Gillian Ray of the American Association of University Women, 202-785-7723 ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-10.22.97-20:57:18-21395