Womens' Coalition asks Chafee to Veto Father-Daughter Dance Bill

A group of groups that advocate for women and girls has asked Governor Lincoln Chafee to veto legislation that enables school districts in Rhode Island to host father-daughter dances if they offer comparable activities to the opposite gender.

In a letter to the Governor, the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, along with 12 other organizations, like the National Organization for Women, the Women's Sport Foundation, the ALCU and the Women's Law Project, the group ssay the bill "may appear innocuous, it is both vague and over-broad, and would encourage Rhode Island schools to institute single-sex programming in violation of federal and state laws designed to prevent sex discrimination in educational programs and activities."

Sponsored by Sen. Hanna M. Gallo (D-Dist. 27, Cranston, West Warwick), the legislation, 2013-S 0012A, will amend state law to provide that activities for students of one sex are permissible if reasonably comparable activities are provided for students of the other sex. The bill will make the language in state law comparable to the gender-specific exemption provided in the federal Title IX law concerning “reasonably comparable activities.”

The legislation will also require that schools notify students they may bring to an event any adult of their parents’ or guardians’ choosing.

The issue of gender-specific school activities erupted into controversy last year when the Cranston School Committee cancelled a father-daughter dance after the ACLU filed a complaint on behalf of the single-mother of a fourth grader, who was invited to a PTA-sponsored dance that directed her to bring “the adult male” of her choice.

“Events such as these dances are important traditions and we should be able to ensure that they can continue to be held without schools or school administrators running afoul of the law,” said Senator Gallo. “I don’t believe the intent of these events was ever to be overtly discriminatory, but we all have to live with the language of the law. This bill, if approved and enacted, should ensure that these events can continue without weakening our resolve to oppose discriminatory activities.”

But the womens' groups say the bill would extend beyond school dances to permit sex separation of "any and all extracurricular activities" as well as "invites the violation of federal anti discrimination law by appearing to sanction activities that reflect sex stereotypes."

If the bill becomes law, it will compel school districts to believe that single-sex programming is permitted, the letter states, as long as a "reasonably comparable" alternative is offered — and that's not enough to meet legal standards.

Citing the Constitution, which states that schools must show an "exceedingly persuasive" justification for segregating students based on sex and the Department of Education requires the single-sex class or activity be justified by an "importation educational objective to improve educational outcomes," the letter states.

"This bill thus embodies a standard for sex-separate programming that is significantly weaker than that required by federal law, thereby misleading school officials into violating Title IX or the Equal Protection Clause, and exposing them and their school districts to the risk of costly litigation," according to the letter. "Rhode Island public schools should not be in the position of telling girls and boys which programs or activities they should be interested in based solely on their sex."