Delaware State University settled a class-action lawsuit brought by members of the female equestrian team charging the school which violating Title IX, which requires universities to offer the same opportunities in varsity sports to male and female students, the Delaware News Journal reported Saturday, The settlement required DSU to bridge the gap between the proportion of female DSU students 61 percent and the proportion of varsity athletes who are female 41 percent. DSU agreed to increase the percentage of athletes who are women to at least 58.5 percent by 2013, as well as increase funding for women's athletics and recruiting. Members of the equestrian team filed the lawsuit, which later became a class-action suit on behalf of prospective and current DSU female athletes, after facing threats of being cut from the university's athletic program. The terms of the settlement also require DSU to meet Title IX requirements before it can consider eliminating the team, the News Journal reported. If the school decides to cut the team, it must extend all athletic scholarships in the program until the end of the academic year.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that state legislators will no longer be allowed to hold their office while teaching in the Alabama junior college system, a practice known as "double-dipping," the Montgomery Advertiser reported. The ruling is meant to prevent lawmakers from collecting an additional salary from the state government. The policy will affect at least one senator and five congressmen, four of whom are Democrats and two of whom are Republicans. Paul Hubbert, head of the Alabama Education Association, said in a statement that many of these lawmakers are working two jobs "to make ends meet," the Advertiser reported. Supporters of the ruling argued that lawmakers received their college jobs only after being elected and did little to deserve their positions. Critics viewed the policy as biased because most lawmakers holding both jobs were Democrats. The only Democrat on the Supreme Court recused himself from the ruling, which unanimously approved the "double dipping" ban.
