Success Stories
Title IX – Alhambra High School
The Call
In 2003, the softball coach at Alhambra High School (AHS) called the California Women’s Law Center (CWLC) to talk about the girls’ softball team not being able to access the new multi-use athletic field. This conversation led to a landmark court case that was the first in California to challenge Title IX compliance at the high school level. The lawsuit highlighted the unfair treatment, unequal benefits, and reduced participation opportunities given to female athletes at AHS.
The call came after the City of Alhambra and the Alhambra Unified School District decided to spend $900,000 to build two state-of-the-art baseball diamonds that were exclusively for the boys’ baseball team and a third multi-use field that was supposed to be useable for both baseball and softball.
The Situation
While the boys’ baseball program had exclusive access to brand new fields with excellent amenities, the girls’ softball teams at AHS were relegated to playing on small, non-regulation sized fields with dangerous holes in the outfield, that they had to share with year-round physical education classes and the freshman football team.
Initially, the coach and the girls were only requesting access to the new multi-use field, which they were not allowed to use because it would interfere with the boys’ baseball teams practices.
When CWLC investigated the matter, it found that having two, state-of-the-art baseball diamonds and one multi-use field for male athletes was not the same as having one dangerous and unmaintained softball field for female athletes. The new boys’ fields had amenities that the girls’ softball field lacked, including enclosed dugouts, batting cages, bullpens, foul poles, electronic scoreboards and new bleachers. The new boys’ varsity field was a fully enclosed locked facility that included a home run fence.
CWLC also discovered that the problems went beyond the disparity between the baseball and softball fields. In addition to the field issues, other issues included:
- The girls had to share one general locker room with broken toilets and showers
- The boys had access to the general physical education locker room, as well as to two other private
locker rooms and a fenced off team room with athletic sized lockers - The girls were not allowed to use the weight room
- The girls’ basketball teams practiced in the small gym on a non-regulation sized court
- The boys’ basketball teams practiced in the large gym on the regulation sized court
- The boys’ basketball teams had better game and practice times than the girls’ basketball teams
- The boys’ athletic teams had more fund-raising opportunities than the girls’ teams
The boys also had more opportunities to play sports because they had three team levels for many sports (freshman, junior varsity, and varsity), while the girls only had two (junior varsity and varsity)—despite numerous female athletes having to get cut during try-outs each year.
When the investigation was over, it was obvious boys were treated better than girls in the AHS athletic program. Four girls, AHS softball players Lauren Cruz and Valerie Herrera, AHS basketball player Jennifer Cerros, and 8th grader and potential AHS softball player Tina Grempel stepped up to the plate and sued AHS violating Title IX by discriminating against girls in the AHS athletic program. CWLC filed the class action complaint in federal court on March 4, 2004.
The Resolution
After more than two years of litigation, the City and School District agreed to settle the case. Every student at AHS received a class notice outlining the terms of the settlement, which included new softball fields. The judge approved the settlement agreement resolving in January 2006.
As part of the settlement, the School District agreed to build two new softball fields with the same amenities and maintenance as the boys’ baseball diamonds, and also to allow the girls to have access to the have access to the multi-use field.
In addition, some of the other changes caused by the settlement included:
- a new freshman/sophomore level girls’ softball team
- a new sophomore level girls’ basketball team
- a new coed weight room was created that is stocked with light weights
- the old weight room, stocked with heavy weights, is now coed
- equal access to the regulation sized gym for practices and games for girls’ and boys’ teams
- a new team locker room for the girls
- conversion of one of the boys’ team locker rooms into a girls’ team locker room
- equal access for girls’ teams to all fund-raising opportunities previously reserved for the boys’ teams
AHS also instituted a policy requiring each athletic team to put one-third of the money that it raises into a common fund to be equally dispersed among all teams and to ensure that athletic opportunities for girls are continually expanded based on girls’ enrollment and interests.
On April 28, 2008, the plaintiffs came to the official opening of the new AHS softball facility. “These new softball diamonds are more than just places for girls to play ball,” said Plaintiff Lauren Cruz. “They are symbols of the school’s commitment to treating girls’ fairly and giving us the same respect that the boys have gotten all along. It is our right to play, and it feels good to have our rights recognized.”
Title IX – West High School
The Call
In the fall of 2008, CWLC received another phone call regarding softball facilities being inferior to baseball facilities. This time it was a West High School (WHS) softball player’s mom who took the initiative. After the call, female athletes and their parents joined forces to remedy the situation.
The Situation
In its investigation, CWLC found that the boys’ baseball facility was vastly superior to the girls’ softball field. The boys’ field had cinderblock dugouts, an electronic scoreboard, sufficient bleachers, a batting cage, a team room, and adequate fencing. The boys’ baseball team also had an experienced and successful long-term coaching staff and three team levels, varsity, junior varsity and frosh/soph. In contrast, the girls’ softball field had open, chain link dugouts, no electronic scoreboard, no batting cage, dilapidated bleachers, no team room, and an insufficient and dangerous lack of space between the playing field and the dugout area. The girls’ junior varsity softball team was forced to play on a grass infield and an outfield that contained dangerous post-holes and doubled as a practice field for other boys’ sports teams—creating an impractical and hazardous situation. Finally, the girls’ softball program had been plagued with significant coaching turnover and inexperienced coaches.
The Resolution
CWLC investigated the matter and in November 2008, CWLC sent a demand letter to WHS and the Torrance Unified School District to address the drastic inequalities in the athletic facilities and programs. These inequalities included giving the boys’ teams:
- superior facilities
- priority scheduling for games and practices
- more, newer, and better maintained equipment, uniforms, and supplies
- more experienced and better compensated coaches
Although the softball parents had complained to school officials about the disparity between the softball and baseball programs, and had received an inadequate response, CWLC’s demand letter got their attention.
WHS and the District responded to the letter within six days and began to make the requested changes almost immediately. WHS Principal Ben Egan commented that “once the discrepancies were pointed out, we worked with the District and parents to remedy the situation in a timely and cost-efficient manner.” Their prompt action included ensuring that the girls’ junior varsity field was completed before the 2009 softball season began and while the parties were still negotiating over other issues.
In August 2009, the parties agreed to settle the matter. As part of the settlement agreement, WHS and the District agreed to improve the varsity softball field before the start of the 2010 season by increasing the distance between the infield and the dugouts, as well as to install an electronic scoreboard, new spectator bleachers, an enclosed dugout, a team room and a batting cage. In addition, WHS conducted a coaching survey to analyze the quality and quantity of its coaching staff for gender equity, conducted Title IX training for its coaches and athletics administrators.
Despite it taking a legal demand letter to get the attention of WHS and the District, the female athletes are grateful for the changes. Student Aletha Vassilakis commented that “it feels good to have the school recognize our rights and support our commitment to athletics” and “we are all excited about our new sports facilities.”
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