Feds launch Title IX investigation into hazing allegations: Lawyer

The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights is investigating Kalispell Public Schools regarding Title IX complaints of two types of discrimination — sexual violence and retaliation.

School officials either declined to comment on the investigation or said they had no details about the complaints. But an attorney representing the families of students who reported hazing on the Glacier High School wrestling team in the 2021-22 academic year said the investigation stems from those allegations.

Michael Bliven of the Bliven Law Firm told the Inter Lake that the complaints arose from the allegations of sexual assault among members of the wrestling team on buses and hotels during the 2021-22 school year, as well as subsequent incidents of retaliation into 2023. Bliven represents two students, one a victim and the other a witness, and their parents.