Settlement Aims To Ensure Gender Equality For Student Athletes In Hawaii

Plaintiffs in a landmark lawsuit over the unequal treatment of female athletes at Hawaii’s largest public school welcomed the finalization of a settlement Friday and expressed hope it would lead to fairer accommodations statewide. 

In 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of female athletes at Campbell High School against the Hawaii Department of Education and the Oahu Interscholastic Association. Female athletes at the school complained of a lack of locker rooms and travel opportunities for their sports teams.

DOE and OIA entered into a preliminary settlement with the plaintiffs in October. The U.S. District Court upheld that agreement on Friday after no objections were raised during a final hearing on Friday.

The settlement did not seek monetary damages but focused on the need to ensure equal treatment for female student athletes. That includes hiring an independent evaluator to assess Campbell High’s athletic facilities as part of a seven-year compliance plan.

The independent evaluator already has started speaking with female athletes at the high school and completed his first on-site visit of the school in December. The next one will be in the spring. DOE and OIA will be required to upload the reports on their website, according to lawyers in the case.

Ashley Badis, one of the plaintiffs who is now a student at the University of Hawaii Manoa, said she’s most excited about the settlement’s requirement that Campbell High teachers, coaches and students receive training on gender equity in sports.

“I personally didn’t even know what Title IX was until this whole process started,” said Badis, a former member of Campbell’s water polo and swim team. “I just knew something was wrong.”

Title IX is a federal law mandating that male and female athletes receive equal opportunities in school sports, including access to training and medical resources, coaches and locker rooms. 

Campbell’s stand-alone locker room for female athletes is still in the construction process. Approximately 15 Hawaii schools only have one locker room that is shared between boys’ and girls’ teams depending on the athletic season, according to DOE. 

“It’s very easy to say something is the case on paper,” ACLU of Hawaii legal director Jongwook “Wookie” Kim said. “But then when you actually go onto campus and talk to students or talk to coaches, the situation might be completely different.”

Several provisions in the settlement specifically apply to Campbell, but Kim said he’s hopeful the lawsuit will also address larger Title IX concerns in Hawaii. 

Notably, all OIA schools must complete an annual Title IX assessment in order to maintain their membership in the association. More than 20 public schools participate in the OIA. 

An independent evaluator will then review schools’ assessments and develop recommendations for the OIA. 

Lyle Hosoda, who represented OIA in the case, said the association is dedicated to following the lawsuit’s requirements and working with school athletic directors and principals on Title IX compliance moving forward. 

“This is a continuing effort,” Hosoda said during Friday’s hearing. 

Elizabeth Kristen, the plaintiffs’ counsel in the case, said she’s hopeful about the settlement’s impact on Hawaii schools, adding that Campbell has made some progress toward improving its athletic program. 

The school surveyed students at Campbell and its two feeder schools, Ewa Makai and Ilima Intermediate, to determine girls’ interest in different sports. The results of the survey can help Campbell better plan its athletic programs for girls moving forward, said Kristen, who also serves as director of Legal Aid at Work’s gender equity and LGBTQ+ rights program. 

“But each school shouldn’t take six years of litigation,” Kristen said. “So it’s really time for the Department of Education to take proactive measures and fix this across the state.” 

Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.