Title IX review: district says high school fields 13 boys and 13 girls sports; new conflict-of-interest guidelines proposed

At the April 8 work session Unionville-Chadds Ford's Title IX coordinator summarized a shortened presentation on gender equity in athletics and described draft conflict-of-interest guidelines for student activities.

Mister Crater said the district used an Office for Civil Rights resource to evaluate whether athletic opportunities are equivalent and noted that the district's high school offers 13 male and 13 female sports. "When a school offers boys and girls athletic teams, the Title IX regulations require that the school offer equivalent benefits, opportunities, and treatment," he said, and he described the three-part test (substantial proportionality; history and continuing practice of program expansion; and meeting interests and abilities).

Mr. Crater also explained that booster clubs are included in the annual Title IX report submitted to PDE and that some areas (booster expenditures, social-media promotion of teams) present room for improvement.

Separately, he presented conflict-of-interest guidelines developed by an ad hoc committee to ensure transparency and integrity in student activities. The document is intended as onboarding and an administrative tool, not as board policy; paragraphs called out in discussion addressed paid private coaching and parent coaches. Committee members and others said the guidelines offer a practical solution to occasional perceived conflicts.

Next steps: administration will refine materials and make them available to the board; no formal policy change or vote occurred at the work session.