[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 691 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 691
Affirming, commemorating, and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the
enactment of title IX, applauding the increase in educational
opportunities available to all individuals, regardless of sex or
gender, and recognizing the tremendous amount of work left to be done
to further increase those opportunities.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 23, 2022
Mrs. Murray (for herself, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal,
Mr. Booker, Mr. Brown, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey,
Mr. Coons, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Feinstein,
Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Leahy, Mr.
Lujan, Mr. Markey, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Padilla,
Mr. Peters, Mr. Reed, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Smith, Mr. Tester,
Ms. Warren, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Rosen, and Mr. Hickenlooper)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Affirming, commemorating, and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the
enactment of title IX, applauding the increase in educational
opportunities available to all individuals, regardless of sex or
gender, 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 discrimination based on--
(1) pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, and medical
conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, and termination of pregnancy;
(2) actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex
characteristics;
(3) sex stereotypes; and
(4) sex-based harassment, including sexual harassment and assault,
dating violence, domestic violence, and sex-based stalking;
Whereas since 1972, the United States has made great progress in providing
educational opportunities to women and girls and, in 2022, women earned
the majority of doctoral, master's, and associate degrees;
Whereas in the 2020-2021 academic year, women earned approximately 60 percent of
the bachelor's degrees awarded by institutions of higher education in
the United States;
Whereas since 1972, the participation of women and girls in sports has increased
by 1,057 percent in high school and greater than 600 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 lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and gender non-conforming
(LGBTQI+) individuals in the United States are still frequently denied
equal educational opportunities;
Whereas pregnant and parenting students are more likely to drop out of high
school compared to other students, only 50 percent of teenage mothers
earn a high school diploma by the age of 22, 38 percent of Black teen
mothers and 36 percent of Latina teen mothers never obtain a diploma or
GED, and fewer than 2 percent of all teen mothers graduate college by
age 30, leading to decreased opportunities for continuing education and
employment;
Whereas a 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office found that,
compared to White girls, Black girls were 5 times more likely and
American Indian and Alaskan Native girls and multiracial girls were
nearly 2 and a half times more likely to receive an out-of-school-
suspension;
Whereas the number of baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering,
and math earned by women has decreased over the past decade and, as of
the 2019-2020 academic year, women earn only--
(1) 39.1 percent of physical science degrees;
(2) 18.7 percent of computing degrees;
(3) 20.9 percent of engineering degrees; and
(4) 42.4 percent of mathematics degrees;
Whereas despite representing 60 percent of all students enrolled in colleges and
universities in the United States, women hold almost 2/3 of all
outstanding student debt ($929,000,000,000 of the total
$1,762,000,000,000), and the average amount of student debt owed by a
woman following the completion of a baccalaureate degree is $2,700 more
than the average amount of student debt owed by a man;
Whereas men still hold the vast majority of leadership positions, while women
make up approximately--
(1) 6.4 percent of the chief executive officers of companies included
in the S&P 500;
(2) 18 percent of Governors;
(3) 31 percent of executive officers elected in statewide elections;
and
(4) 30 percent of college and university presidents;
Whereas when data is disaggregated, women of color have lower rates of--
(1) leadership positions; and
(2) science, technology, engineering, and math degrees;
Whereas despite constituting a majority in their field or industry, women remain
underrepresented in leadership positions and, for example, constitute--
(1) 50 percent of law school graduates over the past 20 years, but only
31 percent of non-equity partners and 21 percent of equity partners at
major law firms;
(2) 76 percent of the health care workforce, but only 27 percent of the
chief executive officers of hospitals; and
(3) 44 percent of all National Collegiate Athletic Association Division
I, Division II, and Division III student athletes, but only 14 percent of
the athletic directors in Division I sports;
Whereas since the enactment of title IX in 1972, inequities in participation
opportunities for women and men NCAA athletes have persisted, with women
having 60,000 fewer opportunities than men for the 2020-2021 school
year;
Whereas women continue to experience sexual harassment and assault--
(1) in elementary and secondary schools;
(2) at colleges and universities; and
(3) in the workplace;
Whereas among individuals in elementary or secondary school, 1 in 4 girls will
experience some form of sexual abuse before turning 18 years old, with
more than 50 percent of girls in grades 7 through 12 experiencing sexual
harassment;
Whereas multiple studies have confirmed that--
(1) 1 in 5 women and 1 in 4 transgender or gender non-conforming
students are sexually assaulted on college campuses; and
(2) approximately 20 percent of girls have been the victims of sexual
assault or attempted sexual assault while in high school;
Whereas experiencing sexual harassment and discrimination can--
(1) lead to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation;
and
(2) have severe educational and financial consequences and negatively
impact academic achievement, including dropping out of school; and
Whereas students face pervasive discrimination and harassment on the basis of
sexual orientation and gender identity in school, on college campuses,
and in the workplace, which impedes the ability of the students to fully
access the educational opportunities to which the students are entitled:
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 based on--
(A) pregnancy, childbirth, termination of
pregnancy, and medical conditions related to pregnancy,
childbirth, and termination of pregnancy;
(B) actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender
identity, and sex characteristics;
(C) sex stereotypes; and
(D) sex-based harassment, including sexual
harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic
violence, and sex-based stalking; and
(3) recognizes the work that still remains to be done to
secure the rights and opportunities guaranteed by 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 individual on the basis of sex.
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