Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home School District last week officially filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Office for Civil Rights in Seattle, Wash., on behalf of Sweet Home High School’s female forestry team members.
The Oregon Department of Education last month ruled that the girls could no longer compete on their own team in response to a complaint from girls at Sabin-Schellenberg Professional Technical Center in North Clackamas School District.
A Sabin girl had decided to compete in the boys division in log rolling last fall at a competition. She complained that a volunteer official, who was from Sweet Home, made offensive comments, and she faced further bullying following the event.
ODE officials then decided that forestry is not an athletic event and that having separate teams is a violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Educational programs may not be separated under federal rules, and ODE required programs across the state to hold co-ed events, in physical forestry competition events such as crosscut, power bucking, cable splicing, log rolling, pole climbing and choker setting.
Non-physical events had already included both girls and boys.
Sweet Home girls objected to the decision, likening the ODE’s ruling on forestry to combining sports such as track, which is allowed under Title IX; and Supt. Tom Yahraes said girls in other programs have also objected. They believe that the new arrangement will discourage girls from participating in the forestry and natural resource programs, which is the opposite of the intent of Title IX.
They say the competitive events and the chance to improve and win provide incentives to girls to participate in forestry and natural resources.
Yahraes sought to reverse the decision in subsequent conversations with ODE officials. Current forestry team members and past team members have written letters urging the ODE to reverse the decision.
ODE staff members responded with letters explaining the rationale behind their decision. ODE officials also told staff they would be willing to brainstorm with Sweet Home officials on other ideas to attract girls into the program.
During its regular meeting on March 9, the Sweet Home School Board approved a resolution objecting to the decision and authorizing the superintendent to file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, which is a division of the U.S. Department of Education.
Yahraes said his assistant, Julie Emmert, filled out the complaint form, attached the School Board’s resolution and a legal opinion by the district’s attorney and sent it to the Office for Civil Rights on March 17.
“The point is that we did not get satisfaction with the Civil Rights office at the Oregon Department of Education and the director of natural resources from ODE,” Yahraes told The New Era. “We are making our formal complaint so that our girls can be heard and a resolution can hopefully be found as quickly as possible.”