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The Division of Schooling is opening an investigation into Owasso Public Faculties the place pupil Nex Benedict, a member of the 2SLGBTQ neighborhood, acquired in a struggle with a number of different college students the day earlier than they died, in accordance with a letter from the company obtained by ABC Information.
The investigation follows a criticism from the Human Rights Marketing campaign alleging that the District discriminated towards college students by failing to reply appropriately to sex-based harassment at Owasso Excessive Faculty in the course of the 2023-2024 college yr.
“Nex’s household, neighborhood, and the broader 2SLGBTQI+ (two spirit, lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex+) neighborhood in Oklahoma are nonetheless awaiting solutions following their tragic loss,” stated Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Marketing campaign. “We recognize the Division of Schooling responding to our criticism and opening an investigation–we’d like them to behave urgently so there might be justice for Nex, and so that every one college students at Owasso Excessive Faculty and each college in Oklahoma might be protected from bullying, harassment, and discrimination.”
The Owasso Public Faculties stated in a press release that they acquired discover of the investigation.
“The district is dedicated to cooperating with federal officers and believes the criticism submitted by HRC shouldn’t be supported by the info and is with out advantage,” the assertion learn partly.
In a previous assertion to ABC Information, the district additionally stated that the “security and safety of our college students is our prime precedence and we’re dedicated to fostering a protected and inclusive atmosphere for everybody.”
“Bullying in any kind is unacceptable,” the assertion learn. “We take stories of bullying very significantly and have insurance policies and procedures in place to deal with such conduct.”
Within the letter, the Division famous “that opening the criticism for investigation on no account implies that OCR has made a dedication on the deserves of the criticism.”
Anti-LGBTQ bullying and violence have been the middle of dialog within the aftermath of Nex’s demise earlier this month, as Nex Benedict’s household requires motion and solutions regarding the bullying they are saying Nex confronted in class.
“The Benedicts know all too properly the devastating results of bullying and college violence, and pray for significant change whereby bullying is taken significantly and no household has to cope with one other preventable tragedy,” the household stated by way of their lawyer in a press release to ABC Information.
Authorities are awaiting the total outcomes of the post-mortem and toxicology stories for extra perception into the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s demise. The state health worker’s workplace will decide the ultimate trigger and method of demise.
The HRC additionally joined about 350 native, state, and nationwide organizations in an open letter calling for state Superintendent Ryan Walters’ speedy removing from workplace for, the letter claims, “fostering a tradition of violence and hate towards the 2SLGBTQI+ neighborhood in Oklahoma faculties.”
The letter – which was created and circulated Wednesday by the advocacy teams Freedom Oklahoma, GLAAD, Human Rights Marketing campaign, and the Homosexual, Lesbian & Straight Schooling Community (GLSEN) – additionally calls for an investigation into the state Division of Schooling “to find out what actions and insurance policies have led to a tradition the place rampant harassment of 2SLGBTQI+ college students has been allowed to go unchecked.”
In a press release to ABC Information, Walters known as the letter a “commonplace tactic of the unconventional left, and they’re going to cease at nothing to destroy the nation and our state.”
Walters additional accused critics of participating in a “determined political recreation” that seeks to “exploit the demise of a younger Oklahoman. I’ll by no means cease combating, I can’t play woke gender video games, and I can’t again all the way down to a woke mob.”
ABC Information’ Tesfaye Negussie contributed to this report.
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