Here in the Binghamton area, three schools named in the original complaint — two in Elmira, N.Y., and one in Horseheads — are rebelling against the ruling, in the latest in a series of arguments over fulfilling the requirements of Title IX, which has been a source of contention among educators, athletes and feminists alike since its adoption in 1972.

James Young, a lawyer for the Horseheads Central School District, said cheerleaders there compete in their own tournaments and are not seen as support players. He noted that the “Rowdy Raiders” pep group is already dispatched to cheer for boys’ and girls’ teams alike.

“We regard our cheerleaders as athletes, while they are working on a 1970s stereotype that cheerleaders are here to support the boys,” Mr. Young said of the education department’s ruling. “We have a really solid women’s athletics program and we support it our way.”

Richard T. Stank, president of the Southern Tier Athletic Conference, which represents the 17 schools in the Binghamton area named in the complaint, said even some of the school officials and coaches complying with the ruling question its validity. “I don’t see how cheerleaders having to be at boys’ and girls’ games is what Title IX was set up to do,” he said.

Under Title IX, all schools and colleges that receive federal money are prohibited from gender discrimination in any area, from academics to athletics. The education department has interpreted that mandate to mean, among other things, that girls’ and boys’ teams must receive equal treatment, from the salaries of their coaches to the condition of their locker rooms.

Intended to expand opportunities for female athletes, Title IX essentially requires schools and colleges to spend equivalent amounts on men’s and women’s sports programs. But some Title IX supporters complain that some schools have twisted the letter of the law to skirt its spirit, cutting lower-profile men’s sports like wrestling or swimming to offset the costs of football rather than adding women’s teams. But others complain that the law has expanded women’s teams of limited interest at the expense of more popular boys’ teams.

Cheerleading has long been a source of contention. Some women’s sports advocates complain that schools count it as a varsity sport as a sneaky way to increase the numbers of the female side of the athletic department balance sheet without changing historic disparities. Others see the varsity letters as a mark of respect for the athletic and acrobatic feats the squads perform.