Final answer:
Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal funds, which includes ensuring equitable treatment of both men's and women's sports programs, although not necessarily identical funding. Option a.
Step-by-step explanation:
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a fundamental civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
A mandatory provision under Title IX includes the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex in academic programs, dormitory space, health-care access, and school activities, including sports.
Therefore, educational institutions that receive federal aid must not spend more funds on programs for men than on programs for women, implicating equal treatment of men's and women's sports programs.
According to Title IX, no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
As such, the correct answer to the student's question is that Title IX does not push for equal funding for men's and women's sports explicitly, but it does ensure that women are not discriminated against in the allocation of resources, including those for sports programs.
Therefore, the correct answer would be to have equal opportunities for men's and women's sports programs, meaning that option a) Equal funding for men's and women's sports is closest to the intent of Title IX, despite the law not necessitating exact equal funding but rather equitable treatment.