Grooming, intimidation and abuse in the Owasso school investigation

OWASSO, Okla. – The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that Owasso Public Schools have entered into an agreement to resolve Title IX violations related to sexual harassment in their schools.

The OCR investigation found that the district has a practice of handling reports of student sexual harassment informally and inadequately.

Over a three-year period, repeated instances were found in which employees were aware of possible sexual harassment but did not explain the process for filing a Title IX complaint.

Title IX “prohibits recipients of federal financial aid from subjecting students to discrimination on the basis of sex in connection with the recipient’s educational programs or activities. Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination on the basis of sex under Title IX.”

Read the OCR’s full resolution letter here.

Changes to Title IX in 2020 require districts to follow specific procedures after learning of possible sexual harassment:

Respond quickly
Offer supportive measures
File a formal complaint
Conduct research
Complaints procedure
Maintain administration and documentation

What are the findings:

The OCR said OPS has not responded to these reports:

A teacher was grooming female students on social media by, among other things, sending them more than 130 messages describing their physical appearance and asking for their photos
A very young primary school pupil was repeatedly subjected to intimidating comments described as sexual in nature.
A male student repeatedly punched and made unwanted sexual comments to a female sixth-grade student at school and on the school bus.
Several students were repeatedly subjected to sex-based insults, intimidation and physical abuse.

The investigation found that OPS has conducted only two formal Title IX investigations in the past three years and was only able to provide limited data to OCR in those two cases.
Investigation into Nex Benedict’s death:
The OCR said OPS failed to take required steps after Nex Benedict’s death in February.

The 20-page findings include several studies; To protect their identities, students and adults involved in the studies were identified by letters.

Through information and videos already made public during the investigation into their deaths, 2 News is able to identify Student A as Nex Benedict. The findings detail the Feb. 7 incident about which Owasso police and the county released statements at the time.

Reported incidents:
The OCR report details multiple incidents in which Benedict reported bullying based on sexual orientation starting in the 2021-2022 school year, when a teacher reported it.

In the spring of 2023, Benedict’s mother said Nex was “sitting with a group of friends when other students started saying the group names.” She said Benedict told the students to shut up and was sent home. Benedict’s mother said she “told an assistant principal that Student A had responded to bullying, but no one had followed up with her about her report.”

School officials denied knowledge of these incidents.

In the fall of 2023, Benedict’s mother said bullying incidents were becoming more common, but she said her child didn’t want her to report them. Benedict’s mother told OCR that she had already reported three to five incidents of bullying to a school counselor. She said no action was ever taken.

These incidents led to what the OCR report calls the “February 7, 2024 Incident.”

Local news

TIMELINE: Investigation into Nex Benedict’s death

A day after that incident, Benedict died by suicide.

The OCR said the district did not initiate a Title IX investigation into this incident because they had no information that the incident involved allegations of sexual harassment.

In analyzing this incident, the OCR found:

“This harassment of non-compliant students occurred within the context of a school-based internship, supervised by high school staff, indicating that the district had actual knowledge of conduct that could meet the legal definition of sexual harassment for students A, B, and C.

But even without resolving these disputed facts, OCR’s investigation confirmed that when the district received a report following Student A’s death by suicide that Students A, B, and C engaged in conduct that could meet the legal definition of sexual harassment, the district still did not meet its obligations. obligation under 34 CFR § 106.44(a) to inform Students B and C and their parents, as well as the parents of Student A, of how to file a formal complaint of sexual harassment or to provide supportive, individualized services .

What’s next?
OCR and the District reach an agreement on changes the District must implement to “remediate the District’s inability to comply with the requirements of Title IX.”

These are the agreed changes:

Contact parents of students affected by sexual harassment in the district to inform them of the process for filing a Title IX complaint and the availability of supportive measures;
Issue a public anti-harassment and non-discrimination statement to the district community;
Review and, as necessary, revise the Title IX Policy to ensure compliance with Title IX requirements regarding sex discrimination, including sexual harassment;
Provide training on Title IX to district staff and students, including the full scope of sexual harassment coverage;
Carrying out a climate study into sexual harassment in the neighborhood;
Review all sexual harassment complaints received in the past three school years and conduct an audit of all complaints received in the next two school years to ensure that the district processes all complaints in accordance with Title IX; And
Develop and implement a recordkeeping system that adequately and accurately documents and retains all data required by Title IX.

The OCR further said:

“Owasso students and their families have not received the fair and equitable review process from their school district guaranteed to them under Title IX; at worst, some students have faced discrimination. Congress has long guaranteed that they will not last in school,” said Catherine E. Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. “The district has signed a robust agreement to ensure that students who attend school in the district receive their rights under Title IX, including the right to file a complaint, learn about and receive support services tailored to their needs, and to benefit from federal non-discrimination protections when they experience harassment.”

READ DOE’s full letter to Owasso Public Schools

What does the district say?

2 News contacted Owasso Public Schools about the findings and they sent this statement:

It is important to note that when OCR presented the Resolution Agreement to the district, it declined to provide the district with a copy of the twenty-page Letter of Resolution, which was released today.

The Voluntary Resolution Agreement, prepared by OCR and signed by OPS, clearly states: “This agreement does not constitute an admission that the District is not in compliance with Title IX and/or the Title IX Regulation of 2020” and “the District does not admit that it was aware of harassment in its programs and activities that was so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive as to deprive every student of access to the educational benefits of the opportunities offered by the district.”

OPS has cooperated fully with OCR throughout the investigation and is committed to meeting the requirements of the Voluntary Resolution Agreement with the utmost seriousness and care because we believe that every student has the right to learn in an environment free from discrimination and harassment. The Voluntary Resolution Agreement signed by OPS reaffirms our commitment to fostering a non-discriminatory and harassment-free environment for all students and ensures that the district continues to receive federal funding, which is critical to supporting and serving all our students.

We believe these steps will increase the safety and inclusivity of our school community.

The district also released a statement regarding its portion of the investigation into complaints of violations of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act or Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The OCR found no violations in this part of the investigation, but the school also voluntarily agreed to make changes and sent a letter to parents: You can read that full letter here.

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