Nex Benedict’s school district agrees to address Title IX harassment violations

(OWASSO, Okla.) — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced Wednesday that Owasso Public Schools in Oklahoma has “entered into an agreement to remedy violations of Title IX” concerning sexual harassment in its schools following the February death of LGBTQ+ student Nex Benedict.

The OCR states that its investigation of the Owasso Public Schools district, which was announced in March, found “repeated instances over a three-year period in which district staff received notice of possible sexual harassment, yet district staff did not explain the process for filing a Title IX complaint or promptly contact a complainant.”

According to the OCR, those instances included reports that multiple students were subject to repeated sex-based slurs, harassment and physical assault; that a male student hit and made unwelcome sexual comments to a female sixth-grade student; an elementary school student was subjected to repeated harassment described as sexual; and a teacher was accused of grooming female students on social media by sending more than 130 messages about their appearance and requesting photographs.

The OCR also found several violations related to LGBTQ+ youth in district schools, including reports that some students were called slurs and subject to other bullying behavior.

The district had only conducted two formal Title IX investigations in the last three school years and produced “limited records” regarding those two matters, the OCR said.

After Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary student, died by suicide following a physical altercation in an Owasso High School bathroom, the district still failed to take steps to implement Title IX regulations, according to the OCR.

“As a result, OCR found that the district’s pattern of inconsistent responses to reports it received of sexual harassment – infrequently responding under Title IX or not responding at all – rose to the level that the district’s response to some families’ sexual harassment reports was deliberately indifferent to students’ civil rights,” read the OCR’s statement.

The resolution agreement between the Department of Education and Owasso Public Schools details a long list of remedies the school must implement to address the stated violations. They include requiring schools to inform parents of affected students about the process for filing a Title IX complaint and the supportive measures available to students.

The agreement also requires schools to not only issue anti-harassment and nondiscrimination statements, but also to provide Title IX training to students and staff, conduct sexual harassment climate surveys in the district, implement adequate record-keeping processes for Title IX complaints and revise its Title IX processes to ensure compliance.

“Owasso students and their families did not receive the fair and equitable review process from their school district guaranteed to them under Title IX; at worst, some students experienced discrimination Congress has long guaranteed they shall not endure at school,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon in a statement.

“The district has signed a robust agreement to assure that students who attend school in the district will be afforded their rights under Title IX, including the right to file a complaint, learn about and receive supportive services individualized to their needs, and benefit from federal nondiscrimination protection when they experience harassment,” the statement continued.