You wouldn’t expect an NBA/WNBA practice court on a Sunday morning to be filled with the sound of basketballs swooshing through the net or the sound of feet pounding on freshly shined wood.

An even more unlikely scenario? All of that noise and activity coming from nearly 100 girls, ages 8 to 18, instead of professional basketball players.

Yet that’s exactly what happened on Sunday as part of AAUW’s kick-off to the 42nd anniversary of Title IX, the law that opened the door for greater athletic participation by girls, among other gains in the field of education. Sunday’s activity featured an obstacle course simulating the real-life barriers girls still face in gaining the same athletic opportunities as their male peers – whether the barrier is fair scheduling for games, comparable equipment and facilities, or the overall number of athletic participation opportunities available to boys and girls.

Although we’ve made great progress with 42 years of Title IX, today’s athletes need your help to break down a significant barrier that still remains: a lack of information.

Unlike colleges, high schools are not required to release data on equity in sports, making it difficult for parents, students, and high schools to determine if boys and girls have equal access to athletic opportunities. The High School Data Transparency Act (H.R. 455/S. 217) would address this gap by requiring high schools to report basic data on the number of female and male students in their athletic programs and the expenditures made for their sports teams.

TAKE ACTION: Urge your elected officials to co-sponsor the High School Data Transparency Act (H.R. 455/S. 217).