State College Area School District hires top Philadelphia law firm for Title IX audit

State College Area School District will hire the Fox Rothschild law firm to conduct an audit of the district’s athletic programs and club sports.

The audit comes after the district was embroiled in a lawsuit filed in August claiming the district violated Title IX by excluding female players from the middle school’s co-ed non-checking hockey team following May tryouts.

After an early December ruling, U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann found that the district violated Title IX by not accommodating female students on the middle school’s co-ed hockey team. Brann ordered the district to include girls, either on the existing team or by creating a second middle school team.

In an update to Brann, district attorney Christopher Conrad said the district would hold informational meetings on the creation of a second team, draft a club sports policy and conduct an independent Title IX audit of all programs.

At Monday’s meeting, the board approved Philadelphia law firm Fox Rothschild to conduct an audit. The motion was approved 8-1 with board member Laurel Zydney dissenting. Zydney voiced concern about the cost of the audit, putting forward a motion to table the vote and look into alternative firms. The motion was not seconded.

“To give a blank check, as important as this work is, concerns me,” Zydney said. “...lawyers’ fees can add up very, very quickly and I don’t have a sense if we’re talking about $3,000 or $30,000 or even higher.”

Fox Rothschild is one of the nation’s highest gross revenue firms, according to the AM Law 100 rankings in 2022. The firm’s typical billing range for lawyers is $255 to $1000 per hour for lawyers and from $125 to $445 per hour for paralegals. According to the engagement letter, the firm will cost the district a blended rate of $250 per hour for the audit.

“They are imminently qualified…” board member Peter Buck said. “And given what we’ve been talking about on the board lately, this is a very reasonable expenditure.”

Linda Pierce, the district’s Title IX coordinator, said the firm would not be able to determine an approximate cost until they’ve evaluated the materials for the audit. Pierce said the firm was chosen because of its reputation for Title IX work and previous Title IX presentations it’s given to the district.

Linnet Brooks, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, spoke during public comment about concerns with the firm’s audit considering their history with the district. Brooks said she supported the audit but asked the district to think critically about the firm and the district’s Title IX training.

“One of my concerns would be that you ended up with a Title IX suit after they trained people at the district,” Brooks said. “I don’t know how much of their training was not taken to heart or may have missed key aspects that resulted in allowing decisions to be made and supporting decisions that landed the district in a Title IX suit.”