McCormick ex rel v. School Dist Mamaroneck, 03-7892.
| Decision Date | 04 June 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 03-7892.,03-7892. |
| Parties | Barry McCORMICK, on behalf of his minor daughter Katherine and JOSEF GELDWERT, on behalf of his minor daughter Emily, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF MAMARONECK and The School District of Pelham, Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Michael A. Miranda, Miranda & Sokokoff, LLP (Jason B. Gurdus, of counsel), Mineola, NY, for Defendants-Appellants.
John Paul Robbins, McLaughlin & Stern, LLP, New York, NY, for Plaintiffs-Appellees.
Jay Worona, Latham, NY, for amicus curiae New York State School Boards Association, Inc.
Before: WALKER, VAN GRAAFEILAND, and STRAUB, Circuit Judges.
Defendants-Appellants the School District of Mamaroneck and the School District of Pelham ("School Districts") appeal from the July 31, 2003 judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Charles L. Brieant, Judge), finding, after a trial on stipulated facts, that the School Districts' scheduling of girls' high school soccer in the spring and boys' high school soccer in the fall, which deprives girls but not boys of the opportunity to compete in the New York Regional and State Championships in soccer, violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681, et seq. ("Title IX"), and its governing regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 106.41(c), and ordering the School Districts to submit compliance plans.
Plaintiffs-Appellees Barry McCormick, on behalf of his minor daughter Katherine, a student at Pelham high school, and Josef Geldwert, on behalf of his minor daughter Emily, a student at Mamaroneck high school ("plaintiffs"), filed this action in April 2002 alleging that the decisions by the School Districts to schedule girls' high school soccer in the spring of the academic year violated Title IX and its governing regulations, and seeking an injunction requiring the School Districts to move girls' soccer to the fall.
We are unpersuaded by the School Districts' attempt to downplay the significance of the opportunity that they are denying their female athletes but affording their male athletes — the chance to be State champions. We agree with plaintiffs that denying girls at the Pelham and Mamaroneck high schools treatment equal to boys in a matter so fundamental to the experience of sports denies equality of athletic opportunity to the female students. Because the School Districts have failed to show that the disadvantage that girls face is offset by any comparable advantage to girls in their athletics programs, and because they have not adequately justified their denial of opportunity to girls by nondiscriminatory factors, we affirm the District Court's finding that the School Districts are in violation of Title IX. However, as we explain infra at pages 302-303, the terms of the District Court's injunction must be modified. We remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
The parties have stipulated to the following facts, unless otherwise indicated. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association ("NYSPHSAA") has approximately 750 members across the state, including the Pelham and Mamaroneck high schools. The NYSPHSAA divides its members into eleven sections and leaves the decision regarding which sports are played in which season to the individual sections. Section I, to which Pelham and Mamaroneck belong, leaves those season scheduling decisions to individual school districts.
Seven hundred fourteen public schools in New York offer girls'1 soccer, 649 of which offer it in the fall. The Regional and State Championships are scheduled at the end of the fall season.2 Prior to plaintiffs and others complaining to their schools about the scheduling of girls' soccer in the spring, 643 schools offered soccer in the fall. After complaints were made, six schools agreed to move girls' soccer to the fall.3
The parties have stipulated that some girls' soccer teams at Section I schools began playing in the spring 15 years ago because of the popularity of girls' field hockey in the region. The girls' soccer teams in Pelham and Mamaroneck have an opportunity to compete in the Section I spring league championships.4 However, even if they win the sectional championship, they cannot compete at the Regional or State Championships, as those games are in the fall. Because the School Districts schedule boys' soccer in the fall, the boys have a chance to compete in the Regional and State Championships for boys' soccer which are held at the end of the fall season. Girls' soccer is the only sport at the Pelham and Mamaroneck high schools that is scheduled out of the State Championship game season.
Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit in April 2002, alleging that the School Districts were in violation of Title IX and seeking declaratory and injunctive relief.5 Barry McCormick sued on behalf of his minor daughter, Katherine McCormick ("McCormick"). At the time this lawsuit was filed, McCormick was a freshman at Pelham high school. She is now a junior. Josef Geldwert sued on behalf of his minor daughter, Emily Geldwert ("Geldwert"), who was a freshman at Mamaroneck high school at the time this lawsuit was filed, and is now a junior. Both girls are soccer players. McCormick was unable to play on the Pelham high school girls' soccer team in the spring of her freshman year because of an injury. Geldwert played soccer for Mamaroneck during her freshman year — in the spring of 2002.
Both McCormick and Geldwert qualified in 2003 for the Olympic Development Program (" ODP"), a program for girls with exceptional ability in soccer. ODP schedules practices and tournaments in the spring based on the assumption that there will be no conflicts with high school soccer, which is typically scheduled in the fall. ODP tryouts are in the fall, but practices do not begin until the winter. In the spring, ODP practices are on Monday evenings in Albany, which is two and a half hours from Pelham. Boys in Pelham and Mamaroneck who qualify for ODP do not face the same conflicts between ODP and high school soccer, because they play high school soccer in the fall.
Both McCormick and Geldwert also play soccer for the Eastchester Patriots club team, a private soccer team that competes in various high-level soccer tournaments. Club soccer has practices and tournaments throughout the year. Neither McCormick nor Geldwert planned to play on their high school teams in the spring of 2003 because neither wanted to play high school, club, and ODP soccer at the same time. In the spring of 2002, Geldwert's participation on the club team caused her to miss some Mamaroneck high school games. As a result of missing games for her high school team, Geldwert was docked playing time by the high school coach. McCormick and Geldwert would play for their high school soccer teams if girls' soccer were moved to the fall season. The parties informed us at oral argument that McCormick is currently playing for the Pelham team — during the spring 2004 season.
Both McCormick and Geldwert have expressed that they want a chance to compete in the Regional and State Championships. See McCormick Aff. ¶ 4 ( ); Geldwert Aff. ¶ 6 ( ). Both McCormick and Geldwert point out that the boys at their schools do not have to juggle ODP soccer and high school soccer because they get to play high school soccer in the fall.6
Plaintiffs submitted an expert report from Christopher Lyn, a former assistant coach for women's soccer at Iona College who now coaches club soccer in Westchester, New York. In Lyn's opinion, "there are significant disadvantages to the girls playing high school soccer in the spring." Lyn asserts in his report:
[T]here are some college coaches who recruit during the fall high school season, particularly during the regional and state championships. They need to see players perform before they recruit them, with or without the offer of scholarships. The Westchester girls who play high school soccer in the spring are disadvantaged, because they do not have the opportunity to compete in the regional and state championships. Additionally, they will not be seen in their senior year until the spring, when college application deadlines have expired and recruiting classes have been filled and scholarships already have been awarded.
Lyn also says that because most high schools schedule soccer in the fall, in order to avoid conflicts, many of the high level club tournaments for girls, including the New York State Cup competition, are scheduled for the spring. Also, ODP is a spring program. Thus, girls who play high school soccer in the spring are overscheduled, face conflicts, and face an increased risk of injury from so much soccer. Lyn says that many college coaches do their recruiting at the high level club tournaments in the spring. The girls who play high school soccer in the spring along with club soccer are not at their best when they are seen by recruiters because they have not been able to practice as much with their club teams, many players are injured from playing too much soccer, and many are burned out. See Expert Report of Christopher Lyn ¶¶ 2-7.
The School Districts submitted affidavits from coaches of women's teams at Cornell University, Old Dominion University, and Dominican...
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