(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) The parents of a child who committed suicide because he was bullied about his vaccination status filed a lawsuit against his Chicago school, claiming they failed to prevent the abuse, American Greatness reported.
15 year-old Nate Bronstein was a student at the Latin School of Chicago, where the young man was bullied because he was believed by other students to be unvaccinated.
Bronstein had been transferred to the school because it was one of the only Cook County schools to re-opening for in person learning. Despite having received the vaccine, Bronstein fell victim to rumors that he had not and was relentlessly bullied about it.
He was reportedly harassed by both students and teachers, with one teacher telling him, in front of the entire class, that he was “going nowhere in life.”
Nate was also bullied on SnapChat, where one student messaged him and told him to kill himself. It was after this incident that he reached out to the administration for help.
Despite reaching out to the administration in regards to this extended abuse, no action was taken against the culprits. Nate’s parents, Robert and Roselle, said they even reached out to the parents of the student who first started the rumor with no success.
Roselle also reached out to a school counselor about the bullying, expressing her concerns that her son may start harming himself. The counselor attributed her fears to “family issues.”
Roselle attempted to contact the school “at least” 30 times. No administrator or teacher made any move to help. Nate attempted to report the bullying to the school dean, who ignored him. The school never informed Nate’s parents about his request to the dean.
Nate was found by his father on Jan. 13, hanging from a noose tied to the shower.
Roselle said if the school had warned her about her son’s behavior, they “would have known, and we would have protected him, and he’d still be here today.”
The lawsuit being levied against the school accuses the institution of violating a state law requiring schools to investigate accusations of bullying and inform parents of all students involved of such incidents.
The school denied all accusations and promised to “vigorously defend” itself in a statement.
“The allegations of wrongdoing by the school officials are inaccurate and misplaced,” the statement reads. “The school’s faculty and staff are compassionate people who put students’ interests first, as they did in this instance.”
