A Department of Education investigation found that the Oklahoma school district where 16-year-old LGBTQ+ student Nex Benedict died in February after an altercation in a bathroom violated federal law by mishandling sexual-harassment allegations, according to NBC News.
The department’s Office of Civil Rights opened an investigation into Owasso Public Schools in March following a complaint from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The organization alleged that the district failed to investigate sex-based harassment that may have contributed to the death of Benedict (he/they), a trans student who died a day after a fight at Owasso High School.
A medical examiner said that Benedict’s death was suicide-related. Benedict had told a police officer that the fight in a school bathroom started after he threw water on students who were mocking him and his friend because of their clothing. Benedict’s mother, Sue, told the UK media outlet The Independent shortly after his death that Benedict told her he was bullied because of his gender identity.
The Education Department alleged that Owasso Public Schools “has a practice of handling reports of sexual harassment of students informally and inadequately,” it announced, and that it violated Title IX, which protects against sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools and academic programs.
In a statement, HRC President Kelley Robinson said, “Today’s resolution agreement from the US Department of Education leaves no doubt: The Owasso School District failed Nex Benedict and many other vulnerable students under their care. … While no accountability measure can fully heal the grief and anger that Nex’s family and this community feels, today, a message has been sent: Trans and non-binary students have worth. They and all students have rights, regardless of who is in the White House.”