Parents are suing a Chicago preparatory school for the suicide of their son in 2022 after allegedly being “persistently” bullied by other students, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.
Robert Bronstein and Rosellen Bronstein reportedly filed their latest lawsuit against the Chicago Latin School on June 5. The couple first sued the school in April 2022, claiming their son Nate committed suicide after being bullied severely at the school. according to outlet.
In the initial lawsuit, the parents alleged that a Latin school student spread rumors about Nate’s COVID-19 vaccination status, according to the Tribune, alleging that Nate had not. claimed to have claimed. Nate reportedly became the victim of bullying over the rumors. Members of the school’s basketball team allegedly cyberbullied Nate through Snapchat, and in December 2021, a student allegedly sent Nate a Snapchat message urging him to commit suicide. (Related: “Save the State”: Parental Rights Symposium Series Opens in California)
Nate later arranged a meeting with school officials to discuss the allegations of bullying, but the school “turned a blind eye” to the situation and the family was “increasingly desperate,” the Tribune said. The Bronsteins reportedly claimed in the report that they are seeking help. early suits.
The parents of a Chicago Latin School student who committed suicide in 2022 after being bullied have filed a second lawsuit against the school for refusing to hand over their son’s records, including multiple bullying complaints, according to the lawsuit. rice field. https://t.co/fwvqAO EdLE
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) June 27, 2023
“Regardless of the loss, we have a right to know our child’s school performance,” said Robert Bronstein, according to the Tribune. “Like any parent, school policies and handbooks say that if parents want their child’s school files, they should go to the department here. for what is described in clearly shows their negligence.”
“We were aware of the bullying because he came home and gave us information about what the kids were doing to him,” said Rosellen Bronstein. told the media. “Isolation, exclusion, feeling unwelcome. But Rob and I were completely unaware that cyberbullying had occurred.”
Nate reportedly met with high school principal Bridget Hennessy on December 12, 2021, regarding alleged cyberbullying. His parents learned of the meeting on January 27, 2022, according to the Tribune. Their son reportedly died the next day at the age of 15.
“They don’t want us to go public with this,” Rochelle said, according to the newspaper. “They don’t want us to be humiliated, but we also have the right to do anything with our children’s school files. They belong to us.” She added that while she will never fully recover from her son’s death, she wants to raise awareness about bullying.
“As humans, we will never recover from this,” Rochelle continued. “It terrifies me and haunts me every day. is to raise awareness about how dangerous bullying and cyberbullying can be.I don’t think society is aware of the fact that this is an immediate crisis and a real epidemic.”
“[O]Out of respect for all involved, we do not believe it is appropriate at this time to comment on this lawsuit,” the Latin School wrote in an email to the Tribune on Thursday.
The newspaper said Robert and Rosellen spent two months seeking access to their son’s records, but the school still refused.
The Latin school handbook says parents have the right to access their child’s files after applying for a reservation. The report said student files could include grades, standardized test scores, teacher notes, disciplinary actions, and communications with students. The Tribune’s attorney, Michael Trucco, denied the Bronsteins’ request for records and said the handbook was not a “contractual obligation,” the Tribune reported.
According to the report, Mr. Trucco also used “incomplete, misleading, derogatory and defamatory” public statements about the school’s staff and operations as further justification for Nate’s parents’ refusal to file a record request. He accused him of repeating his remarks.
“What we’ve learned is that it’s a toxic culture, it’s arrogant, and it’s like, ‘We have this prestigious reputation, so it’s $43,000 a year for people to send their kids here.’ ‘We don’t have to follow the rules,’ said Robert, the paper reported.
“They don’t care about their students, they don’t care about their families, and they certainly don’t care about their victims. They selfishly worry about themselves, their property, their careers. Every action they have taken shows ruthlessness, selfishness and tremendous disrespect for our son and his memory,” Roselane added.
Nate’s parents plan to donate the money they won in the lawsuit to an anti-bullying group, according to the Tribune. They are reportedly seeking a total of $100 million across multiple accounts in the first lawsuit.
