Volleyball players at Northmont High School near Dayton no longer have to buy their own uniforms and sew numbers onto the jerseys.

The girls basketball team doesn't sell $7 fruitcakes and $1 programs at football games to pay for officials at their games. And parents aren't forced to drive girls to their softball games.

No longer do the girls teams take a back seat behind the boys.

WHAT TITLE IX SAYS

No person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, be treated differently from another person or otherwise be discriminated against in any interscholastic, intercollegiate, club or intramural athletics. In determining whether equal opportunities are available, the following will be considered: • Whether the selection of sports and levels of competition effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of members of both sexes. • The provision of equipment and supplies. • Scheduling of games and practice time. • Travel and per diem allowance. • Opportunity to receive coaching and academic tutoring. • Assignment and compensation of coaches and tutors. • Provision of locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities. • Provision of medical and training facilities and services. • Provision of housing and dining facilities and services. • Publicity. U.S. Department of Education

Change began 30 years ago with passage of federal Title IX legislation, which requires schools to provide comparable opportunities for male and female athletes.

Since then, sports participation among girls in Ohio high schools has quadrupled, and schools have spent millions of dollars improving fields and locker rooms.

But equity still does not fully exist in many schools - whether it be the girls playing fields or when their games are scheduled. Unlike college sports, where the NCAA monitors and pressures universities to meet gender equity requirements, high schools in Ohio are not closely watched.

"I don't think that most of our schools are in compliance," says Deborah Moore, an assistant commissioner with the state athletic association.

"Most of our schools are striving to provide the best opportunities, but I would venture that all schools are not real clear on what they would need to do to come into compliance."

On the 30th anniversary of this landmark legislation, the Associated Press sent surveys to all 746 Ohio public high schools, researched U.S. Department of Education documents, and interviewed dozens of athletic directors, coaches, parents and students to examine the law's impact on prep sports.

The review found that the gap between boys and girls sports has shrunk but still exists. Among findings:

There are as many or more girls teams as boys teams at many schools - 129 of the 275 that responded. The 37 percent of public schools willing to participate in the survey included schools of all sizes in diverse parts of the state.

Overall, boys participating in sports outnumber girls by 54 percent - 170,235 to 110,373 - according to Ohio High School Athletic Association statistics for the 2000-01 school year.

Over the past five years, 25 gender-equity complaints have been filed against Ohio high schools, prompting districts to build new softball fields, allow girls basketball teams to play on Friday nights and schedule pep bands to play at girls' contests.

Despite the opportunities that have opened for women, most head-coaching jobs are held by men, including seven of 10 positions at schools in the survey.

It's not known how many of the state's 612 school districts are not adhering to Title IX laws because of the lack of oversight.

The state has never conducted a comprehensive gender-equity study, and Ms. Moore acknowledges there is little interest in one within the state athletic association.

"That would be a huge administrative load that, quite frankly, we would not be prepared to undertake," she says.

Kentucky is auditing each of its 285 schools for Title IX compliance. A year ago, the state put three schools on probation and fined two others for gender-equity violations.

Ohio's athletic association encourages schools to conduct self-evaluations on gender equity but enforcement is up to the state, Ms. Moore says.

From 1981 to 1997, the state Education Department had an office that primarily helped schools comply with gender equity laws. It created handbooks, held regional conferences and helped schools evaluate their athletic programs.

Federal money for the office ran out in 1997, and the department now simply provides "technical assistance" such as directing questions to the Office for Civil Rights.

The federal agency is responsible for investigating when a parent, student or coach files a gender-equity complaint, but it does not begin a probe unless there is a complaint.

Documents obtained by the Associated Press show that gender-equity battles have expanded to include scheduling girls' teams to play on weekends instead of weeknights and building ball diamonds with the same amenities.

The 25 gender-discrimination complaints against public school districts have not yet caused any to lose federal funds.

Six of the complaints were dismissed, and two others remain unresolved. Most were settled by the parties involved.

Most schools make changes on their own. "It's real simple," says Jim Chambers, athletic director at Swanton High School. "If I buy a set of uniforms for the boys basketball team, I'll buy them for the girls."