The 吃瓜直播 recently released a report documenting the initial findings from the 吃瓜直播鈥檚 multi-state 鈥�Teach Kids, Not Stereotypes鈥� campaign. The report was prepared for the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights to highlight the widespread legal violations uncovered by our investigation and to underscore the need for greater public accountability and oversight by state authorities, and for more enforcement efforts at the federal level.
吃瓜直播 affiliate offices around the country sent public records requests to states, school districts, and individual schools seeking documents related to the implementation of single-sex education programs in 15 states鈥擜labama, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Our early findings demonstrate that single-sex education programs in coeducational, public schools are widely out of compliance with the stringent legal requirements of Title IX. The report calls on the Department of Education to rescind its 2006 regulations, which have been widely misinterpreted by school administrators as permitting single-sex programs based on stereotypes, or at least to provide guidance to schools that programs based on stereotypes are illegal.
There is strong evidence from the documents produced and from news reports that teachers in the single-sex classes incorporated into their teaching stereotyped attitudes about boys鈥� and girls鈥� purportedly different interests, talents, and capacities. For instance,
- Committee meeting notes of a community working group for single-sex programs in secondary schools in Pennsylvania documented a desire among the participants to ensure that students would experience 鈥渕ale-hood and female-hood defined space鈥� exhibiting characteristics of 鈥渨arrior, protector, and provider鈥� for boys and giving girls 鈥渟pace/time to explore things that young women like [including] writing, applying and doing make-up & hair, art.鈥�
- A Virginia school stated that 鈥淸b]oys prefer reading material that is non-fiction, or if fiction, adventure oriented. In math, boys can get interested in 鈥榩ure鈥� math and geometry, without linking it to the real world applications. The female brain does not prefer such action. 鈥� girls prefer reading fiction material that does not necessarily contain much action. In math, girls generally prefer a real world application that shows them why it is meaningful. They are generally not interested in 鈥榩ure鈥� math for its own sake.鈥�
- A Wisconsin school district collected materials that trained teachers to ask boys about literature, 鈥淲hat would you DO if鈥︹�� while asking girls, 鈥淗ow might/would you FEEL if鈥�?鈥�; motivating boys with 鈥渉ierarchy!!! Competition!!!鈥� while motivating girls by getting them to 鈥渃are鈥�; and recognizing that boys like 鈥淸b]eing 鈥極n Top鈥� 鈥� Being a Winner!!鈥� while girls like 鈥淸b]eing 鈥楢ccepted鈥�, liked, loved!!!鈥�
The 吃瓜直播 report shows lack of compliance with these requirements is widespread. Some schools required students who did not wish to participate in separate classes to enroll in another school, while others failed to alert parents that they at least theoretically had the ability to opt out of the classes.
Read the full report: Preliminary Findings of 吃瓜直播 "Teach Kinds, Not Stereotypes" Campaign