The Department of Education will investigate whether the Oklahoma school district where deceased 16-year-old transgender student Nex Benedict attended high school failed to adequately respond to sexual harassment, according to a letter obtained Friday by NBC News. announced that it would start. .
The letter was shared with NBC News by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBTQ rights organization, which had filed a complaint with the department following Benedict's death on February 8.
Benedict died a day after a fight with three other students in the school bathroom at Owasso High School in Owasso, Oklahoma, garnering international media attention and condemnation from LGBTQ advocates around the world.
In its complaint, HRC accuses the Department of Education of failing to “address the discrimination and harassment suffered by Nex,” and that the district has failed to comply with Title IX, the landmark civil rights law that protects people from discrimination. He asked them to investigate whether there were any violations. The basis of sex in federally funded educational programs.
“This letter is to inform you that the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has begun an investigation into the above complaint you have filed against Owasso Public Schools (School District).” Karen E. Mines, the Department of Education's chief lawyer, stated the following in a letter to the HRC: “Your complaint alleges that the school district discriminated against students at Owasso High School during the 2023-2024 school year by failing to adequately respond to sexual harassment of which it was notified.”
Mines added that the department will investigate whether the district failed to respond appropriately to allegations of student harassment “in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title IX.”
Neither the Department of Education nor Owasso Public Schools immediately responded to requests for comment.
The cause of Benedict's death and whether a fight between Benedict and three other high school students played a role in his death is still unknown.
Body camera footage from an officer's interview with Benedict on Feb. 7, the day of the fight, shows Benedict being heard telling officers he was attacked by three students in the bathroom. The boy also said that the students had been bullying him and his friends because of the way they were dressed, so he threw water on them before the fight.
“Nex's family, community, and the broader 2SLGBTQI+ (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex+) community in Oklahoma are still responding to the tragic loss of Nex. “We are looking forward to seeing you,” said HRC Chair Kelly Robinson. statement Friday evening. “We are grateful that the Department of Education responded to our complaint and opened an investigation. The Department needs to take immediate action on harassment and discrimination.”
