Communities for Equity v. Michigan High School Athletic Association, No. 02-1127 (6th Cir. Aug. 16, 2006)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that a plaintiff group, Communities for Equity (CFE), was not precluded from raising a Fourteenth Amendment equal protection claim under Section 1983 for gender discrimination based on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s (MHSAA) scheduling of girls’ sports seasons. The court rejected the argument that Title IX provides the exclusive remedy for alleged gender discrimination in school athletic programs. Section 1983 allows a plaintiff to sue a public official who, acting under color of state law, violates rights secured by the federal constitution or statutes. A Michigan federal district court ruled that MHSAA’s scheduling of athletic seasons violated female athletes’ rights under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, Title IX, and Michigan’s civil rights act. The Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision on the as to the Equal Protection claim but did not reach the Title IX or state law issues. MHSAA appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which vacated the Sixth Circuit’s decision and remanded the case for reconsideration in light of the Supreme Court’s holding in Rancho Palos Verdes v. Abrams, 544 U.S. 113 (2005). On remand, MHSAA argued that, based on Rancho Palos Verdes, Title IX provides the exclusive remedy for gender discrimination in school athletic programs and that CFE therefore was precluded from seeking additional remedies under § 1983. CFE countered that Rancho Palos Verdes does not apply to the § 1983 claim brought in this case.
       The Sixth Circuit concluded that Rancho Palos Verdes does not apply to Title IX because, unlike the statute at issue in that case, Title IX does not contain an explicit private remedy that is sufficiently comprehensive for the court to infer that Congress intended the remedy to be exclusive. The appeals court held that Title IX does not preclude relief under § 1983 "simply because the Supreme Court has implied a private right of action." The Sixth Circuit then reviewed and upheld the district court’s rulings on the § 1983 equal protection, Title IX, and state law claims

Communities for Equity v. Michigan High School Athletic Association, No. 02-1127 (6th Cir. Aug. 16, 2006)
[Link to full opinion]

[Editor’s Note: Background, including links to summaries of previous rulings in the case, is available starting below.]
[NSBA School Law pages on CFE v. MHSAA]