The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released guidance on Thursday regarding name, image and likeness (NIL) pay and its compliance under federal Title IX rules.
The office put out its guidelines in a nine-page memo stating that athletic programs must offer equal opportunity regardless of sex.
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The memo stated that compensation by a school for student-athletes NIL is considered to be “athletic financial assistance” under Title IX “because athletic financial assistance includes any financial assistance and other aid provided by the school to a student-athlete that is connected to a student’s athletic participation; it is not limited to scholarships or grants.”
“However, OCR has long recognized that a school has Title IX obligations when funding from private sources, including private donations and funds raised by booster clubs, creates disparities based on sex in a school’s athletic program or a program component,” the memo stated. “The fact that funds are provided by a private source does not relieve a school of its responsibility to treat all of its student-athletes in a nondiscriminatory manner.
“It is possible that NIL agreements between student-athletes and third parties will create similar disparities and therefore trigger a school’s Title IX obligations. Because these NIL agreements vary widely and continue to evolve and because the application of Title IX’s equal athletic opportunity requirements is a fact-specific inquiry, this Fact Sheet does not offer specific guidance on Title IX’s application in the context of compensation provided for the use of a student athlete’s NIL by a third party, including an NIL collective.”
Miguel Cardona is the education secretary in President Biden’s administration, but he will be out once President-elect Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
The guidance could change during Trump’s administration.
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