Investigation Opened into Oklahoma School District Following Death of Nex Benedict

1. Oklahoma school investigation non-binary teenager death
2. US federal probe Oklahoma school non-binary student tragedy.

Accident – Death – Obituary News : US federal authorities have launched a formal inquiry into the Oklahoma school district where a non-binary high school student tragically passed away after a physical altercation last month, as disclosed in a letter from the US Department of Education.

The student in question, Nex Benedict, sadly succumbed to their injuries a day after the altercation occurred within a girls’ restroom at Owasso High School. Family members have since revealed that the 16-year-old had been a victim of bullying.

According to Nex’s relatives, the teenager identified as non-binary and preferred the use of they/them pronouns.

The letter announcing the investigation was directed to the Human Rights Campaign, which had petitioned the department to scrutinize Owasso Public Schools and their alleged mishandling of sex-based harassment that may have played a role in the tragic death.

The Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education has pledged to investigate whether the school district neglected to appropriately address reported instances of harassment, as per the letter, which did not mention Nex by name.

In response to the investigation notice, Owasso Public Schools released a statement dismissing the allegations as baseless and unsubstantiated.

“The district remains dedicated to collaborating with federal authorities,” the statement asserted.

Neither law enforcement nor school officials have disclosed the specific events leading up to the altercation. However, Nex’s family has asserted that the teenager faced harassment due to their non-binary identity.

Nex managed to leave the restroom after the confrontation on February 7, but was subsequently taken to a hospital by their family and discharged later that evening.

Emergency services were summoned to the family’s residence the following day in response to a medical emergency involving Nex, who was subsequently transported to a hospital emergency department, where they tragically passed away.

Nex’s mother, Sue Benedict, has shared that the teenager sustained severe facial and ocular bruising during the altercation involving a transgender student and three older female students.

The school district has maintained that the students were only present in the restroom for a brief period before the altercation was interrupted by fellow students and a faculty member..

Oklahoma school non-binary teenager death federal probe
US federal investigation Oklahoma school non-binary student death.