The New York City Department of Education ("DOE") has agreed to move the high school girls’ soccer season from spring to fall starting next school year. The change gives girls’ soccer players opportunities for athletic development and college recruitment already provided to boys, who play soccer in the fall along with the city’s private schools and the public schools in all of the state’s other counties.
The New York Civil Liberties Union had threatened to sue the Department of Education (DOE) after it was approached by three city public high school students and girls’ soccer athletes who believed that scheduling a spring season for girls was discriminatory. The young women were later joined in their effort by the National Organization for Women, New York City Chapter (NOW-NYC).
“Forcing girls to play soccer out of season relegated them to second-class status, and told them that they were not entitled to the same advantages as the boys,” said Donna Lieberman, NYCLU executive director. “The DOE is right to end this discriminatory practice and ensure that all its soccer athletes have equal opportunities to develop their talents and enjoy the game.”