The Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act, part of the No Child Left Behind Act, addresses equal access to public school facilities for the Boy Scouts and other specified patriotic youth groups. In November 2002, OCR issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking inviting comments from the public on issues to be considered in developing proposed regulations. After reviewing the comments, OCR began drafting a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which was published during FY 2004. OCR received six complaints alleging violations of the Act and four complaints were resolved during FY 2003.

The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights served as an ex officio member of the Secretary of Education's Commission on Opportunity in Athletics, composed of representatives of athletes, educators, coaches and other interested parties. The Commission was charged with examining the enforcement of Title IX and making recommendations to increase athletic opportunities for all students. The Commission held town hall meetings across the country, receiving testimony from over 50 expert witnesses and 150 members of the public. On February 26, 2003, the Commission presented its final report to Secretary Paige. The report is entitled "Open to All: Title IX at 30," and contains a number of factual findings and recommendations for improving and strengthening the enforcement of Title IX.

With the Commission's report in mind, in July 2003, OCR mailed "Dear Colleague" letters to education leaders at 6,600 postsecondary education institutions. The letter reaffirms the flexibility given to educational institutions in ensuring their athletics programs are operated free from discrimination on the basis of sex. The document also clarifies that nothing in the Title IX statute requires the cutting or reduction of teams in order to demonstrate compliance with Title IX and that the elimination of teams is a disfavored practice.