How Will the Equal Rights Amendment Affect Opportunities for Females in the Nations Schools?
Evidence abounds that our Nation’s public schools in many instances do not offer equal opportunities to females and males as students or as employees. The Equal Rights Amendment will require public-supported schools at all levels to eliminate regulations and official practices that discriminate against females. It will provide the constitutional basis for requiring public schools to eliminate the present effects of past purposeful discrimination. It will commit the country to the principle of equality so girls and boys can learn from the Constitution that they are considered equals before the law. As students, boys and girls in public elementary and secondary schools continue to be steered into courses that reflect outmoded traditional stereotypes about a “man’s world” and “women’s work.” Although this division is breaking down in the adult world, traditional ideas still survive regarding the suitability of school courses for boys and girls. Enrollment patterns of males and females in
