Toledo Public Schools will open libraries at predominantly black K-8 schools with the same frequency as its other schools — one of several steps the district will take to resolve a years-long federal investigation into how TPS educates black students.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on Thursday announced the agreement with the school system. The pact is the result of the district’s desire to voluntarily resolve issues and end an incomplete investigation that the federal agency began in 2010.

In 2009, parents filed a civil-rights complaint alleging students in Toledo’s largely black schools didn’t have the same opportunities, such as college preparatory classes, as those in other schools.

The civil rights office identified several potential compliance concerns related to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but found TPS offers “substantially equal access to core classes” and has made changes to provide equal student resources, according to a letter the agency sent the district on Wednesday.

The agreement outlines actions the district must take to address concerns and timelines to file regular reports — deadlines which continue into 2018.

The steps include making sure all students have similar access to school libraries; ensuring qualified teachers are assigned to schools throughout the district; and stationing distance-learning teachers, who use high-tech labs to simultaneously teach Advanced Placement classes across the district, in high schools “in a racially equitable manner.”

TPS participated fully in the investigation and is “very happy with the outcome,” said Brian Murphy, district chief of staff.

The agreement does not levy any financial penalties against the district, nor will its implementation require the school system to hire additional employees, he said.

One member of the Toledo-based African-American Parents’ Association, who voiced concerns years ago about the paucity of college prep classes at Scott High School, criticized the time it took for a response.

“It would be better to resolve issues when they come up at the local level then for us to file a lawsuit or file a complaint because then things ... slow down,” said Twila Page.

She said the district should continue to compare offerings at its high schools, where she contends, “There’s still a wide range of differences.”

The education department review examined the district’s curriculum offerings, teaching staff, and facilities. Its focus was after the 2011-2012 school year, when TPS reorganized its elementary and middle schools into a K-8 model.

TPS provided the agency with 16,670 pages of documents, and federal representatives visited 15 schools during the 2012-2013 school year.

Reviewers found that, during the 2011-2012 school year at 10 sample K-8 schools, the three schools with the lowest percentage of teachers with master’s degrees were predominantly black schools. Three of the four schools with the highest percentages were primarily attended by white students.

The review also found that three of the four predominantly white K-8 schools the agency studied had teachers with more average years of experience than the predominantly black schools.

Mr. Murphy said the district wants to expand a program that pays teachers an incentive to teach at lower-performing schools, but said the district also must follow its collective-bargaining agreements. He added that such teacher percentages vary from year to year.

Federal reviewers also found that the predominantly black K-8 schools it visited offered students “more limited access” to their school libraries and students could check out fewer books than schools with more white students.

District officials said a lack of library volunteers for inner-city schools meant those students couldn’t use their libraries as frequently. Mr. Murphy said the district has committed to developing a staffing schedule that will allow it to open up more library access. A report on that schedule is due to the civil rights office by Feb. 16.

“We are working on the actual plan right now and putting it together,” he said, adding that TPS will ask the nonprofit organization Partners in Education to provide some volunteers.

Mr. Murphy said the district has already implemented other steps called for in the agreement, such as assigning distance-learning teachers to high school classrooms across the district.

The education department’s investigation is separate from a U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division review of how the district disciplines minority students and how it provides services for students with limited English proficiency and disabled students. That review is ongoing.

Contact Vanessa McCray at: vmccray@theblade.com or 419-724-6065, or on Twitter @vanmccray.

First Published January 22, 2016, 5:00 a.m.