North Dakota HS athletics runs through NDHSAA across 168 schools with basketball at Class A/B and football tiered into AAA/AA/A/B including 9-man at the smallest level. Hockey is a real D1 pipeline through Fargo, Grand Forks, and Bismarck. Lightning for Schools is built for NDHSAA athletic directors: NDCC Title 15.1-compliant student-data handling and pricing with 10 included coach seats plus low-cost extras.

Built for NDHSAA

Governing Body

North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA)

Member-school eligibility rules, classification, and championship workflows shape what an athletic department needs from its software. Lightning for Schools is configured to support NDHSAA-aligned workflows out of the box — not generic NFHS templates that don't map to your state's specifics. Reference: ndhsaa.com.

Compliant with NDCC Title 15.1 (Elementary and Secondary Education) — student data privacy provisions

Student Data Privacy

NDCC Title 15.1 (Elementary and Secondary Education) — student data privacy provisions

NDCC Title 15.1, including §15.1-07-25.3 (which requires districts to publish the list of personnel with access to student data) plus complementary administrative-code provisions, governs student-data privacy in North Dakota public schools. North Dakota implemented an expanded student privacy law in 2020 adding more granular access-control and transparency requirements. Lightning's data-handling practices are built to meet these requirements; a vendor that can't speak to your state's privacy framework should not be on your shortlist.

What North Dakota athletic directors actually deal with

NDHSAA serves 168 member schools — basketball uses Class A and Class B only, while football classifies further into Class AAA / AA / A / B (with 9-man and even smaller variants at the lowest tier). ADs at Class B programs operationally run different football than Class AAA peers.
Hockey is significantly more developed than in most non-Northeast/Northwest states — NDHSAA hockey divisions plus proximity to USHL juniors (Fargo Force, Lincoln Stars) and BCHL exports feed real D1 college hockey pipelines. Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot are the hockey-recruiting clusters.
Bakken oil-region demographic shifts (Williston, Watford City, Dickinson, Minot) created enrollment volatility through the 2010s; programs in those districts can shift class between realignment cycles based on the boom-bust cycle, complicating multi-year scheduling and recruiting planning.
NDCC Title 15.1 (with the 2020 expansion at §15.1-07-25.3) requires districts to publish lists of personnel with access to student data — an unusually granular transparency requirement that vendors should expect to be referenced in district procurement.

What Lightning for Schools includes

10 coach seats included

Flat $150/yr base includes 10 full coach seats. Need more for a big multi-sport department? Add extra seats anytime at 50% of the coach-tier price.

Roster + eligibility

Per-sport, per-season roster management with eligibility tracking, transfer documentation, and out-of-season practice limits.

Recruiting portal integration

Your student-athletes' Lightning profiles roll into a searchable college-coach portal — recruiting attention without leaving the AD platform.

DPA-compliant data handling

Aligned with NDCC Title 15.1 (Elementary and Secondary Education) — student data privacy provisions requirements. Documentation available for your district's procurement review.

Stat verification

Coach Verified and Tournament Verified stats flow into the recruiting layer automatically. Reduces manual roster-update workload for AD staff.

Multi-season scheduling

Fall / winter / spring sport scheduling in one tool — facility allocation, transportation requests, official assignments.

Built for athletic departments across North Dakota

We're looking for our first partner departments in the state. If you're an AD in one of these areas and want to talk through a pilot:

Fargo / West Fargo metro Bismarck / Mandan Grand Forks Minot Williston / Bakken region Dickinson

Lightning for Schools · ND

$150 / year

Base tier · 10 coach seats included · NDCC Title 15.1 (Elementary and Secondary Education) — student data privacy provisions compliant

See full Lightning for Schools details →

Talk to Christian directly

I'm the founder. North Dakota athletic directors who want to talk through a pilot or just get specific questions answered can reach me directly: [email protected] or (443) 996-6563.