The U.S. Department of Education announced Friday that it has opened an investigation into the Oklahoma school district where a 16-year-old student, Nex Benedict, died a day after an altercation in a high school bathroom.
The department said in a letter Friday that it is investigating whether Owasso Public Schools, outside Tulsa, “failed to respond appropriately to the alleged harassment of students” in violation of federal law, including Title IX. He said the investigation was in response to a complaint filed by the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group.
The death of Nex, a non-binary Owasso High School sophomore, drew national attention after gay and transgender rights groups said Nex had been bullied at school because of their gender identity. Nex used their pronouns and the pronouns as well as the pronouns he and him, friends said.
After the fight, Nex spoke with a police officer at a local hospital and, according to a video of the interview released by the Owasso Police Department, described throwing water on three girls who gathered Nex and Nex’s friends for the way who dressed up. . The girls then attacked and fought Nex, who told the officer they fell to the ground and “blacked out” at one point.
The next day, Nex’s grandmother and guardian called an ambulance to rush Nex back to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Nex’s cause of death remains under investigation by the state medical examiner. The Police Department said in a statement last month that the death was not the result of trauma, but has not released further details.
Nex’s death brought scrutiny to Oklahoma’s restrictive laws and policies for LGBTQ students and the bullying that family members and friends said Nex suffered at school.
Karen E. Mines, deputy regional director at the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, said in the letter that the opening of an investigation “in no way implies that OCR has made a decision on the merits of the complaint.”
In a statement, the school district said it was “committed to cooperating with federal officials” and that it “believes the complaint filed by HRC is not supported by the facts and is without merit.”
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said, “We need urgent action to bring justice to Nex and so that all students at Owasso High School and in every school in Oklahoma are safe from bullying, harassment and discrimination. “
At a vigil for Nex last month, Robin Ingersoll, a 16-year-old sophomore and friend of Nex’s at Owasso High School, said Nex identified as transgender and that LGBTQ students have struggled to find acceptance in their corner of Oklahoma.
“In Owasso, it’s worse than bullying,” Robin said. “We could all learn to be more accepting of others and be better so this doesn’t happen again. We could all grow for Nex.”
Ben Fenwick contributed reporting from Owasso, Okla.
