WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court strengthened enforcement Tuesday of the landmark Title IX law that bars sex discrimination in schools and colleges, ruling that teachers and coaches may challenge schools for giving girls second-class treatment without fear of being punished.
In a 5-4 ruling, the high court said the law not only protected girls and women who might be victims of discrimination, but also those who sought to enforce its guarantee of equal treatment.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said it was crucial that teachers and coaches spoke up when they saw evidence that women's or girls' teams have smaller budgets and poorer facilities. And if these employees are not protected from retaliation when they complain, "Title IX's enforcement scheme would unravel," she said.
"Individuals who witness discrimination would likely not report it, indifference claims would be short-circuited, and the underlying discrimination would go unremedied," said O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the high court.
The decision revived a lawsuit brought by Roderick Jackson, a high school teacher and girls' basketball coach from Birmingham, Ala. He said he was fired as the coach four years ago after he complained that his athletes were forced to practice in an old gym with poorer facilities and locker rooms than those used by boys.
When Jackson sued, a federal judge and the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta dismissed his claim. The lower courts said Title IX protected discrimination victims, but not others who, at most, witnessed discrimination.
The justices disagreed in Jackson vs. Birmingham Board of Education. Since the 1960s, civil rights laws have been interpreted broadly to protect not only victims of discrimination, but also those who seek to enforce the law, O'Connor said.
She sided with liberal Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer.
"This decision is a slam dunk victory for everyone who cares about equal opportunity," said Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women's Law Center, which brought Jackson's case to the high court. "The court has confirmed that people cannot be punished for standing up for their rights."
Tuesday's ruling does not necessarily mean Jackson will win his suit. It means he is entitled to try to prove in court that the school stripped his duties "because he complained of sex discrimination," O'Connor said.
