Sex discrimination complaints filed against Coeur d'Alene School District
The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights will investigate a complaint filed by a Sandpoint resident about alleged sex-based discrimination in the Coeur d'Alene School District.
Mark Rossmiller alleged in a complaint that the district discriminates based on sex by failing to provide equal athletic participation opportunities to female students.
"This issue has significant public interest and deserves publication," Rossmiller wrote to the Press via email Monday. "Females as children should not be discriminated in Idaho public schools, taught to be inferior to boys, while receiving financial support by federal, state and levy dollars."'
In a July 25 letter signed by Office for Civil Rights senior attorney Tania Lopez, Rossmiller was told the office will investigate "because it raises a possible violation of Title IX."
Title IX is a law that prohibits sex discrimination — including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity — in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Opening the investigation in no way implies that the Office for Civil Rights has made a determination with regard to its merit, Lopez wrote in the letter.
"During the investigation, OCR is a neutral factfinder, collecting and analyzing relevant evidence from the complainant, the recipient and other sources, as appropriate," she said in the letter.
"The district receives federal financial assistance from this department," Lopez wrote in the letter to Rossmiller. "Therefore, it is required to comply with this law."
The Coeur d'Alene School District has until Aug. 8 to submit paperwork and documentation to the Office for Civil Rights to fulfill investigation requirements.
In a statement to The Press, the Coeur d'Alene School District said it is committed to ensuring Title IX compliance and providing equal opportunities for all students. The district has requested an extension to provide the requested information, as high school principals and athletic directors will not report to work until mid-August and their assistance is needed to gather the documentation. Some requests have already been fulfilled.
"We are in the process of gathering the remaining information requested and will provide it as soon as we can," said Stefany Bales, executive director of community relations for the district.
Rossmiller filed similar complaints against the Coeur d'Alene and Boundary County school districts in 2023 and against the Lake Pend Oreille School District in 2022.
The Lake Pend Oreille School District investigation was completed July 2022, according to a July 20, 2022, story published in the Bonner County Daily Bee.
Half of the allegations against the district were reportedly dismissed because the Office for Civil Rights could not reasonably conclude there were violations in areas regarding higher wages for coaches and tutors of boys' teams, per diem and travel funding, quality of competition and preference of funding disbursement shown to the boys' sports team by the booster club.
Other allegations were dismissed because the information submitted did not support the claims, the Daily Bee reported.
Attempts to contact Lopez at the Office for Civil Rights were not immediately returned.