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The Oklahoma school district where a transgender student died this year after an altercation in a bathroom violated federal law by mishandling sexual harassment allegations, according to an investigation by the federal Education Department. The department’s Office of Civil Rights opened an investigation into Owasso Public Schools in March following a complaint from the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization. A photograph of Nex Benedict is projected at a candlelight service in Oklahoma City on Feb. 24. The department said the district failed to respond to sexual harassment allegations repeatedly over three years, in violation of Title IX regulations that were implemented in 2020. The new regulations require district staff members to explain the process to file Title IX complaints or promptly contact complainants to discuss supportive measures like counseling or schedule changes.

Persons: Nex Benedict, Nate Billings, Benedict, Sue, “, ”, Jordan Korphage, Margaret Coates, ” Coates, ” Kelley Robinson, ” Robinson Organizations: federal Education Department, Civil Rights, Owasso Public Schools, Human Rights, HRC, Owasso High, The Oklahoman, USA, U.K, Education Department, Owasso Public, District Locations: Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, America

☆ After suicide of nonbinary teen, DOE finds multiple Title IX violations at Oklahoma school district
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( Lauren Del Valle | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —After the suicide of a nonbinary student last February spurred a monthslong federal investigation, the US Department of Education found Title IX violations in an Oklahoma public school district including multiple failures to respond to notices of sexual harassment. The DOE’s Office of Civil Rights announced a resolution Wednesday with the Owasso Public School District to remedy Title IX violations linked to sexual harassment in district schools. The OCR investigation began last March, weeks after the death of nonbinary teen, Nex Benedict. The investigation also identified several other instances in the last three years when district staff failed to properly respond to sexual harassment complaints. The agreement between the DOE and the school district requires the district to implement new policies and procedures and additional training for staff and students.

Persons: “, Nex Benedict, Benedict, Patrick Quiring, Wednesday’s, ”, Margaret Coates, ” Coates Organizations: CNN, US Department of Education, Civil Rights, Owasso Public School District, Human, Owasso, Reuters, DOE Locations: Oklahoma

A dozen school districts in Oklahoma said they will not check students’ immigration status if asked by the state’s education department, in the latest sign of growing resistance to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters. “The focus has changed from public school students to self-centered political aspirations,” said Susan Wray, an elementary school principal in Edmond and a former state education department official. School districts also cannot ask students about their immigration status if it may be used to deny them access to a free public education, according to U.S. Department of Education guidance. The Deer Creek, Pryor, Millwood, Owasso and Jenks school districts told NBC News that they do not currently, nor do they plan to, ask students about their status. He threatened to take over Tulsa Public Schools after the district leadership told a board member she could not lead prayers on the microphone at a graduation ceremony.

Persons: Ryan Walters, Walters, ”, ” Walters, Susan Wray, that’s, “, Rob Miller, Moore, —, Chris Payne, Jeremy Hogan, Kevin Roberts, Miller Organizations: State Board of Education, Oklahoma State Department of Education, Oklahoma, NBC News, Republican, U.S . Department of Education, U.S, Supreme, Bixby Public Schools, Policy Institute, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Policy Institute, Oklahoma City Public Schools, Tulsa Public Schools, Norman, Union Public Schools, Public, Brooklyn Public Locations: Oklahoma, Edmond, Bixby, Tulsa, Pryor, Millwood, Owasso, Jenks, California

☆ Autopsy Shows Nex Benedict Died of Suicide
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Edgar Sandoval | More About Edgar Sandoval | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary student in Oklahoma who died a day after a physical altercation in a high school girls’ bathroom, died as a result of suicide, according to an autopsy report released on Wednesday. A medical examiner’s report said that the teenager had been found with a “combined toxicity” of diphenhydramine, an antihistimine commonly used for allergies, and fluoxetine, a drug often used to treat depression. Reports of the Feb. 7 altercation at Owasso High School, a day before Nex’s death at home, drew outrage from gay and transgender rights groups who cited reports from the family that Nex had been bullied at school. The cause of death had remained unclear in the weeks that followed. In a police interview conducted at the hospital in the hours following the fight, Nex reported having “blacked out” while being beaten on the bathroom floor.

Persons: Nex Benedict, Nex Organizations: Owasso High Locations: Oklahoma

☆ Opinion | We Owe It to Nex Benedict to Do Better by Bullied Teens
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Margaret Renkl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There’s much we don’t know about why Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager in Owasso, Okla., died a day after a fight in a high school bathroom. We know that 16-year-old Nex, who often went by they/them pronouns with peers, was bullied at school. We know that Nex didn’t report the recent encounters to teachers or school officials. We know that Nex responded to the harassment by pouring water on the students, but we also know the bathroom fight didn’t appear to be an even match. The family’s attorney stated that the teen was “attacked and assaulted in a bathroom by a group of other students.” Nex collapsed at home the next day.

Persons: Nex Benedict, Sue Benedict, “, ”, Nex, ” Nex Organizations: Owasso Police Department Locations: Owasso

☆ Nex Benedict death: Police video shows non-binary teen describe fight in high school bathroom
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Sara Smart | Steve Almasy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Nex Benedict, whose family and friends say identified as nonbinary, died February 8, a day after they told their family they were involved in a fight with others at Owasso High School. Body camera video from February 7 shows an Owasso police officer interacting with Nex and their guardian, Sue Benedict, in a hospital after the fight in a school bathroom between two groups of students. Nex eventually got thrown onto the ground and the other students proceeded to beat them up, Nex says in the video. Another video shows Nex being escorted by the school’s security officer to the nurse’s office and then to the principal’s office. Benedict says Nex is “not doing good at all” and was breathing, but their eyes were rolling back.

Persons: Nex Benedict, Nex, Sue Benedict, ”, “, ” Nex, Nex ‘, Benedict, Kevin Stitt, Andy Rose, Whitney Wild, Taylor Romine, Caroll Alvarado Organizations: CNN, Owasso High, Toxicology, Owasso Police, ’ Police, Owasso Public Schools, Oklahoma, Gov, American Civil Liberties Union Locations: Oklahoma, Nex

☆ In Video, Nonbinary Student Describes Fight in Oklahoma School Bathroom
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An altercation at an Oklahoma public school involving a 16-year-old nonbinary student who died the next day began after the student “poured water” on girls who had been making fun of the teenager, according to a body camera video interview released by the Owasso Police Department late Friday. The video of the 16-year-old student, Nex Benedict, talking to an Owasso officer provided the fullest account yet of what took place inside the girls’ bathroom on Feb. 7. The interview, which lasted about 20 minutes and took place at a local hospital, provided new details of the confrontation at the West Campus of Owasso High School. And they had said something like, ‘Why do they laugh like that?’ They were talking about us in front of us. And so I went up there and I poured water on them” from a plastic water bottle, Nex told the officer.

Persons: Nex Benedict, Nex, ” Nex Organizations: Owasso Police Department, West, Owasso High, Nex Locations: Oklahoma

☆ Nex Benedict: Death of Oklahoma teen after fight in school has LGBTQ+ advocates seeking answers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Andy Rose | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A 16-year-old student died following a fight at an Oklahoma high school – and as an investigation into the cause of death continues, advocates point to a heightened and hostile climate against the LGBTQ+ community. Nex Benedict, whose family says identified as nonbinary, died February 8, one day after they told their family they and a transgender student were involved in a fight with others at Owasso High School. It is not clear if or how the fight contributed to Nex’s death. An Owasso school resource officer went to Bailey Medical Center, where Nex was examined, and interviewed both Nex and their parent about the incident. Nex’s death comes after advocates have strongly criticized Oklahoma officials for actions perceived as targeting LGBTQ+ residents.

Persons: Nex Benedict, Nex, ”, Sue Benedict, Benedict, ” “, ‘ You’ve, don’t, ’ ” Benedict, “ Nex, ” Benedict, “, I’m, Kevin Stitt, Ryan Walters, ” Walters, CNN’s Whitney Wild, Taylor Romine, Caroll Alvarado Organizations: CNN, Owasso High School . Police, Police, Independent, High School West, Bailey Medical, Owasso Fire, KOKI, Oklahoma, Gov, Public Schools, Lambda Legal, ACLU Locations: Oklahoma, Owasso, ”, Nex

☆ Anti-Trans Law Draws Scrutiny After 16-Year-Old’s Death in Oklahoma
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( J. David Goodman | Edgar Sandoval | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A 16-year-old student in a small Oklahoma town outside Tulsa died after what the police said was a “physical altercation” in a high school bathroom, drawing outrage from gay and transgender rights groups who said the student was attacked because of their gender identity. The student, known to peers as Nex Benedict, often used the pronouns they and them, and told relatives that they did not see themselves as strictly male or female. Under an Oklahoma law passed in 2022, students must use the bathrooms that align with their birth gender. As of Wednesday afternoon, no arrests had been made in connection with the altercation, which occurred on Feb. 7 in a girls’ bathroom at Owasso High School. The apparent severity of the altercation, and the death of the student a day later, has focused national attention on how it is being handled by school officials and law enforcement.

Persons: Nex Benedict Organizations: High School Locations: Oklahoma, Tulsa

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