Legal Issues Surrounding Single-Sex Schools in the United States

• In Event: The State of Single-Sex Schooling: Theoretical, Empirical, Methodological, and Legal Issues

Abstract

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, followed by the 2006 U.S. Department of Education regulations, represented a drastic change in American public policy by allowing for sex segregation in public schools. Schools could segregate by sex as long as the segregation was voluntary, students were provided a substantially equal co-educational option, and the segregation substantially furthered an important governmental objective. Since these policy changes, there has been a rapid increase in single-sex education within the U.S. public elementary and secondary school system. Hundreds of public schools now offer single-sex classes within coeducational schools or are entirely single-sex. Many of the now single-sex public schools began segregating because they believe that sex differences in learning style dictate two different types of education. Citing the teachings of Leonard Sax (founder of National Association of Single Sex Public Education; Sax, 2005) and Michael Gurian (founder of the Gurian Institute; Gurian, 2001), many proponents of single-sex education argue that boys and girls have very different learning styles and interests because of innate differences in brain structure, hormones, and physiology. Sax (2005) and Gurian (2001) typically translate their interpretations of neuroscience data into educational recommendations that vary greatly for boys and girls, often closely aligning with cultural gender stereotypes.

This trend in increasing sex segregation within public schools has been met with mixed responses. Several schools faced litigation attesting that single-sex public schooling was in violation of existing federal and state laws. Namely, three existing federal laws¬ – the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution, Title IX of the Education Amendments, and Equal Education Opportunities Act – either specifically address, or have been interpreted by the courts as applying to, sex segregation in public schools. Although these existing federal and state laws explicitly ban sex segregation, the Courts have historically allowed single-sex schooling within higher education if it did not perpetuate gender stereotypes. Because many current single-sex schools are arguably based on gender stereotypes, the ACLU sued two school districts, one in Kentucky and one in Louisiana. Although these cases have now been resolved, there are still many contradictory existing laws and precedents. These contradictions, combined with differing beliefs in the use of gender within the classroom, mean that schools will likely continue to face litigation. This paper will include (a) a review of the current trends regarding single-sex education within U.S. public schools, (b) a review of the existing laws and legal precedents addressing sex segregation in education, and (c) an in-depth examination of the recent court cases brought against public school districts.

Authors

• Christia Spears Brown, University of Kentucky

• Diane F. Halpern