OWASSO, Okla. — On June 26, the family of Nex Benedict filed a lawsuit against Owasso Public Schools.
On September 15, the district formally submitted its response. The findings were broken up into multiple documents.
WATCH: Owasso Public Schools formerly denies most claims in Nex Benedict lawsuit
OPS responded to each claim made in the Benedicts' lawsuit, denying the majority of the 77 allegations listed, namely in paragraphs 16 and 17 of the suit, which states the bullying and harassment Nex received was open and obvious to teachers and staff, and that Nex or Nex's family reported the bullying to the district multiple times.
The district admits Nex was in in-house suspension, with other students, and that a fight did happen and school staff responded.
"If conflict happens, if bullying happens, we just, it's unacceptable. We want to address it immediately."
That's Superintendent Dr. Margaret Coates during a 1-on-1 interview with 2 News before the school year started. We asked about the district's handling of bullying after Nex's death.
"We've just tried to really encourage teachers and students, if they see something, say something," Coates said. "If they see it happen, please report it immediately so that we can address it. Don't wait. Don't let it happen over and over and over."
The district's response goes on to say "Nex Benedict was contributorily negligent by initiating the fight in the bathroom on February 7th 2024." The school also called its response to the incident "reasonable and appropriate in light of the information and circumstances available." It adds the lawsuit fails to mention any district employee who was "deliberately indifferent towards Nex's rights."
Local News
IN-DEPTH: What did the USDE investigation into harassment at Owasso PS find?
The school also filed a partial motion to dismiss, pointing to a portion of the suit that says the school "rounded up gender-nonconforming students, and placed them in small rooms with their abusers." The school says in its motion, that there's no proof of that.
Another portion of the school's response is a motion to strike references to the Office of Civil Rights investigation, which the district says was in response to Title IX compliance and is irrelevant to the case. OPS also adds they weren't given an opportunity to cross-examine the people interviewed during the investigation, making it one-sided.
We reached out to the district for a comment on their findings. They told us they can't comment further on pending litigation. We also reached out to the attorney representing the Benedict family, but didn't hear back.
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