SYRACUSE - Cheerleaders in a New York high school athletic conference will have to cheer at an equal number of girls and boys basketball games following a federal government investigation of a parent's complaint that girls' sports were being slighted.

While the U.S. Department of Education ruled against specific schools in the Southern Tier Athletic Conference, it could have ramifications throughout New York, said Nina Van Erk, the executive director of the New York Public High School Athletic Association.

Van Erk said she would be sending an advisory letter to all school districts in New York informing them about the determination by the education department's Office for Civil Rights, even though she had not heard of the cheerleading issue elsewhere in the state.

“The letter will encourage equality in all promotion and publicity, not just cheerleading. Boys and girls sports need to be treated equally in all regards - in any publicity, any funding, any support,” she said.

The federal Office for Civil Rights investigated 12 of the conference's 20 schools following a complaint by a parent that cheerleaders attended only boys football and basketball games, said league president Richard Stank.

The federal agency reached resolution agreements with the schools after determining they had violated Title IX guidelines by not providing equal support for both boys and girls events, said education department spokesman Jim Bradshaw. The agreements allow the school districts to rectify the situation without admitting wrongdoing, he said. Title IX is federal law that prohibits sex discrimination against students and requires equal benefits for girls and boys athletic teams, including cheerleader and band support.

“Nine out of ten times, it is not a matter of intentionality. It is a continuation of the historic ritual of the celebration of male athletes,” said Donna Lopiano, executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation, an advocacy group.

“People don't think about it until it's brought to their attention. But the law is clear,” said Lopiano, adding that Title IX cases have frequently included inequities in cheerleading for girls sports.

Stank said he expected all 20 schools in the conference would comply with the decision, which only affects regular season basketball games.

The decision doesn't affect cheerleaders at football games, which the Office of Civil Rights recognized was a unique sport with no counterpart for girls, he said.

Stank said each of the school districts will devise for itself a plan on how to comply with the agreement.

The investigations dealt with other concerns besides cheerleaders, Stank said. Separate investigations were conducted in each of the 12 school districts - Binghamton, Chenango Forks, Chenango Valley, Ithaca, Maine-Endwell, Norwich, Oneonta, Owego-Apalachin, Susquehanna Valley, Vestal, Whitney Point, and Windsor - and some had additional issues. The cheerleader problem was common to all the schools, he said.

In several instances, the agreements also required the school districts to provide “equivalent publicity and/or promotional services” for boys and girls teams.“ For example, the Vestal Central School District was cited because its booster club produced a yearly program for boys sports featuring player rosters, photos and paid advertisements, while there was nothing of equal quality for girls, Bradshaw said.

The agency will monitor all the districts it reached agreements with, Bradshaw said. If a school district does not comply, OCR can initiate administrative proceedings to suspend or terminate federal funding to the district, or refer the case to the U.S. Department of Justice for prosecution.

While the federal government's determination is “a good decision in principle,” it could have some unintended negative consequences, the executive director for the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators cautioned.

“You have to remember these cheerleaders are also students. If the boys team plays twice a week, and the girls team plays twice a week, does that mean the cheerleaders will have to cheer at four games a week. If they have to do double-duty, I have some concerns. That's twice the opportunity for injuries,” said Jim Lord, whose Memphis, Tenn.-based educational association represents more than 50,000 cheerleading coaches from the youth level to college.

The ruling also could force school districts, many already financially strapped, to hire more coaches, or impose twice as much work on current coaches, he said.

“There's also the issue of how you implement this. Do you split the squad? Do you add more cheerleaders, which also means more expense? Do you alternate them at events and have them at only half the games?” Lord said.