Education Department To Investigate School District After Nex Benedict's Death

The U.S. Department of Education is opening an investigation into whether the Oklahoma school district where a 16-year-old transgender student, Nex Benedict, died after a fight in a high school restroom, failed to respond appropriately to sex-based harassment, according to a letter addressed to the Human Rights Campaign.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), one of the country’s largest LGBTQ+ rights groups, filed complaints with the Department of Education and the Department of Justice following Benedict’s death on Feb. 8.

Benedict died one day after a fight with three other Owasso High School students, putting a spotlight on theculture of fear and harassmentfacing LGBTQ+ students in Oklahoma and beyond.

“This letter is to notify you that the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), is opening for investigation the above-referenced complaint that you filed against the Owasso Public Schools (the District),” wrote Karen Mines, the Education Department’s regional director, in a letter to HRC. “Your complaint alleges that the District discriminated against students by failing to respond appropriately to sex-based harassment, of which it had notice, at Owasso High School during the 2023-2024 school year.”

The letteralso notes that the Office for Civil Rights will investigate whether the district failed to follow Title IX guidelines when responding to sex-based harassment. Current Title IX law includes language that protects transgender students in any school or educational program that receives federal funding.

Brock Crawford, a spokesperson for the Owasso Public School District, confirmed by email that the district received a notice of the investigation from the Office for Civil Rights.

“The district is