WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings announced new regulations Tuesday that make offering single-sex school classes easier.
Schools will be able to offer classes only for boys or girls as long as comparable coeducational classes are available and the single-sex classes are voluntary. Under current regulations, classes can be offered for one sex as long as comparable classes for the other sex are available.
The regulations implement Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which ban gender discrimination. Title IX allowed very limited exceptions, like physical education and sex education.
Under the new regulations, single-sex classes must have an important objective, like improving educational achievement.
"Research shows that some students may learn better in single-sex education environments," Spellings said. "The Department of Education is committed to giving communities more choices in how they go about offering varied learning environments to their students."
