The federal investigation by the Department of Education into the death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict from Oklahoma could take a long time and might not satisfy advocates wanting major improvements in how LGBTQ youth are treated in schools.
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the department is responsible for the investigation. The investigation was started by the department. The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy organization in the nation, accused Benedict’s school district of not adequately addressing sex-based harassment, which may have contributed to Benedict’s death after being involved in a fight in the girls’ restroom. This prompted the OCR to start the investigation last week.
Rachel Perera, a fellow at the Brown Center on Education Policy, stated that the OCR typically acts quickly on reports of civil rights violations and is required to investigate any complaint alleging discrimination. However, investigations usually don’t start with something as serious as a death.
Perera hopes that the department handles this case differently due to its sensitive and tragic nature compared to their standard procedures.
Many important details about Benedict’s death and identity are still not known.
Sue Benedict, who was referred to as Mom by Nex, mentioned that Nex did not identify as male or female, feeling they were in the middle. Friends at a vigil in Owasso, Okla., described Nex as transgender, primarily using he/him pronouns at school but also using they/them pronouns. Advocacy groups in the LGBTQ community have labeled Nex, who was of Choctaw Nation ancestry, as belonging to the Two-Spirit, transgender, and gender non-conforming category. A police investigation is ongoing, and the results of an autopsy and toxicology report are pending. The possibility of the school fight contributing to the death has not been ruled out by local authorities.
It is not known how long the OCR investigation into Owasso Public Schools, Benedict’s school district, will take. Investigations involving violent crimes can take several months or even years.
The Department of Education confirmed starting the investigation on March 1 but did not provide an expected duration.
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, emphasized the importance of a thorough investigation to uncover the truth and ensure accountability and justice.
Robinson highlighted the need to understand the situation in Benedict’s school district and how the administration addresses harassment targeting LGBTQ+ individuals. This comes after a report from The Oklahoman revealing a history of LGBTQ bullying in Owasso.
The Oklahoman published a report featuring current and former Owasso students who disclosed the long-standing bullying of LGBTQ individuals in the Tulsa suburb.
Lance Preston, the person who started and runs the Rainbow Youth Project, told reporters on Thursday that there has been a sudden increase in calls to the organization’s crisis hotline since Feb. 16, when Benedict’s death started getting a lot of attention from the media. Most of the people calling from Oklahoma said they were experiencing bullying at local schools, as per Preston. Brought attention to Oklahoma has received focus — it has the most anti-LGBTQ laws introduced this year, according to the ACLU, and how it treats LGBTQ students.
More than 350 LGBTQ and civil rights organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, in February requested the dismissal of the state’s top education official, Ryan Walters, for his anti-LGBTQ beliefs and policies and for
choosing Chaya Raichik — the conservative activist behind Libs of TikTok, who often targets LGBTQ individuals — to be part of a state library advisory board. At a January State Board of Education meeting, Walters stated that gender fluidity is “the most radical concept we’ve ever come across in K-12 education” and
accused the Biden administration of using the Education Department to promote gender ideas to children. In response to the increased attention on Benedict’s death, Walters accused “the radical left and their allies in the media” of using the incident to advance a political agenda and a false story, in a statement. “I will continue to advocate for parents and will never give in to the woke mob,” he said. The Human Rights Campaign has asked for a separate inquiry into Walters and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
“He’s more concerned with protecting himself than doing his job, so we need to ensure that there is an external organization guaranteeing a thorough investigation,” Robinson said Thursday, referring to the OCR investigation. “And if this investigation confirms what we have heard to be true — that there is a pattern of systemic harassment in the school — there has to be action taken.” In that case, the Department of Education would need to clearly outline steps for the school district to change its policies and culture, Robinson said, and Owasso Public Schools would have to agree to make those changes. The school district may also choose to settle the investigation internally through an agreement, which is permitted in certain situations, according to OCR’s complaint processing procedures.
Schools found to have broken one of the laws enforced by OCR, including Title IX, are almost always given an opportunity to negotiate a resolution. Resolutions generally require schools to gather better data on Title IX complaints and provide more support to students.
“I would argue that those actions seem insufficient to address the type of harassment that has been reported by the family and friends of Nex Benedict,” said Perera, of the Brookings Institute, “especially in a state where you have the state superintendent vehemently opposing any efforts to make schools more welcoming to LGBTQ youth.”
In rare cases, schools found to have violated the law may lose federal funding. Schools that refuse to comply with agreements made with OCR may have their cases referred to the Department of Justice.
Advocates stated that they do not anticipate discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in Oklahoma, including Owasso, to suddenly disappear. They see the OCR investigation as the initial step in the right direction.
Robinson, from the Human Rights Campaign, emphasized the importance of assuring young people that there are allies who will support them when they experience clear injustices.
The federal inquiry by the Department of Education into the death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict in Oklahoma may last for months and may not satisfy advocates seeking substantial improvements in the treatment of LGBTQ youth in schools.
Advocates said they don’t expect discrimination against LGBTQ people in Oklahoma — and Owasso, specifically — to disappear overnight, and the OCR investigation is only the first step in the right direction.
“Young people that are watching need to be reassured that when something happens that is flat out wrong, that there are people that are willing to stand up for them,” said Robinson, of the Human Rights Campaign.
