A Los Angeles jury ordered a California school district to pay $1 million in damages for failing to protect a middle school student who was bullied, tormented, and verbally assaulted by fellow teenagers who started a petition to end her life.
The jury ruled that the El Segundo Unified School District was negligent in training and supervising its workers, who then failed to protect 13-year-old Eleri Irons from three bullies between November 2017 to June 2018, according to the New York Daily News.
A lawsuit filed in 2019 reportedly alleged that Irons had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cut herself, and sought refuge in the school nurse's office nearly every lunch break because of the bullying.
Teachers failed to act after finding out about the petition
The torture that Irons experienced started when teachers failed to act after finding out about a petition circulating in their school entitled "Let's kill Eleri Irons." The teen's attorney Christa Ramey told the Los Angeles Times that when Irons' parents did ask school officials for help regarding the death threat, they dismissed their concerns as just drama over a teen love triangle.
Ramey reportedly said that former El Segundo Middle School principal Melissa Gooden, now an executive director of human resources with the school district, allegedly lied about calling cops as soon as she learned of the death threat that was issued to Irons in June 2018.
Ramey said that Gooden did not call the police that day and that she attempted to make it seem like they did everything they could, but in reality, during the entire year, they did not do anything. She added that Gooden and her colleagues never investigated a single claim of bullying made by her client.
A report was filed with the police a day after the petition came to light and moments before Irons' parents met with school administrators. The students who were accused of bullying Irons were reportedly suspended.
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Bullying needs to be taken seriously
Ramey said that every teacher, counselor, and administrator who touched this case failed her client, the aggressors, and every other student at the school. She added that bullying is to be taken seriously, and the administrators are culpable when they do not stop it.
According to El Segundo Superintendent Melissa Moore, the district added two new student safety positions at two of its elementary schools and also implemented a district-wide safety plan. El Segundo district enrolls about 3,500 students.
Moore issued a statement to the New York Post, saying that as a school district, they respect the court's ruling and acknowledge the lawsuit's findings. She said that the next steps are up to their legal counsel.
