Lake Pend Oreille School District agreed last week to enter a voluntary resolution agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights after receiving a complaint filed by a Sandpoint resident. 

The complaint originated in July 2021 when Mark Rossmiller alleged LPOSD failed to provide equal athletic opportunities to female students by not accommodating their interests and abilities.

According to the Sept. 6 resolution agreement, the district voluntarily agreed to provide participation opportunities for female and male students that equally and effectively accommodate the athletic interests and abilities of both sexes in compliance with Title IX. 

In a press release, LPOSD officials said the district went forward with the agreement because it wants to find opportunities to get better at what it does. 

LPOSD officials added that that the district wants all students — and specifically female athletes — to have an abundance of opportunities to participate in interscholastic athletics. 

Following Rossmiller’s complaint, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights investigated LPOSD’s Title IX compliance. In a letter to Rossmiller shared with local media outlets by Rossmiller, dated Sept. 6, Department of Education Equal Opportunity Specialist Emily J. Hazen said LPOSD expressed interest in voluntarily resolving the complaint before the Office for Civil Rights had completed its investigation. 

In the letter, Hazen specified that the letter is not a formal statement of the Office for Civil Rights’ policy. 

Rossmiller also filed complaints alleging Title IX noncompliance against the Boundary County and Coeur d'Alene school districts in January 2023 and July 2024, respectively. 

In the press release, LPOSD officials said the district has launched several initiatives including adding funding and coaches, conducting annual surveys to gauge student interests, and instituting a no-cut policy for all female sports in an effort to promote participation from female student-athletes. 

According to the press release, around 42% of the Sandpoint High School athletes competing in the fall sports of cross country, soccer, swimming, volleyball, golf, and football are female, while girls make up around 45% of the school’s student body. 

District officials also stated that over the past three years, the number of female student-athletes participating in all sports has increased by nearly 9%. 

The Sept. 6 agreement specified that the district agreed to either provide athletic participation opportunities that are “substantially proportionate” to each sex’s enrollment or demonstrate that the interests and abilities of female students are fully accommodated by LPOSD’s athletic programs. 

If LPOSD chooses the latter approach to demonstrate Title IX compliance, the district will conduct an objective assessment that includes the results of recent surveys of students and the review of any requests to add sports made by students, among other criteria. 

Under the terms of the agreement, LPOSD would then provide the Office for Civil Rights with a detailed report regarding its assessment within 60 days of Sept. 6. 

In the letter to Rossmiller, Hazen said the Office for Civil Rights will monitor the implementation of the agreement and close the complaint when it determines that the terms of the agreement have been satisfied.