 | | San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Speaks about girls' sports |
California will be the first in the nation to implement a new law (Chapter 852, Government Code, Section 53080) that prohibits local governments and special districts from discriminating against girls in community athletic programs. Assemblymember Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) authored this legislation and Governor Schwarzenegger signed it into law on September 28, 2004.
Effective January 1, 2005, this law will further prohibit discrimination against any person on the basis of sex or gender in the operation, conduct, or administration of community youth athletics’ programs and, activities or in the allocation of parks and recreation facilities and resources. Local governments and special districts have ten years to comply with this new law. As a means for enforcement, this law also creates the basis for a civil action.
Publicly funded sports programs are critical for girls from low-income families. Public sports programs like Parks and Recreation are often the only option for low-income girls to experience the benefits of sports due to expensive registration fees for private sports leagues or a lack of programs in low-income, urban neighborhoods.
| | Assembly Member Steinberg and Oakland City Council President Da La Fuente |
Team-Up sponsored the Leveling the Playing Field for Girls event this summer to raise awareness about the importance of public after-school sports programs and highlight the fact that girls are often left out of the game. An impressive group of elected officials attended our event to show their support for girls in sports, including Mayor Gavin Newsom, bill author Assembly Member Darrell Steinberg, Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, and Assembly Member Mark Leno.
Team-Up for youth has offered training and up to $50,000 each to Oakland and San Francisco to make strides in improving gender equity in after-school sports.
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