Cincinnati Public Schools agreed to pay a $3 million settlement more than four years after Gabriel Taye died by suicide after being bullied “constantly.” In a lawsuit, the 8-year-old’s family accused the Ohio school district of covering up the bullying incidents that led up to Gabriel’s death.
Terms of the settlement include creating a memorial for Taye, who died on January 26, 2017. The school will also be required to update “efforts to identify bullying by tracking repeat offenders, repeat victims and repeat locations where acts of bullying take place regardless of how the school or district becomes aware of the bullying.” The district and Taye’s family will meet twice a year for the next two years to monitor how terms are being met.
“In honor of Gabe his family is using this settlement to protect current and future CPS students. We will make sure these reforms take root and end bullying throughout the CPS system,” the family’s attorney Al Gerhardstein said in a statement, per a report by People.
Gabriel’s family alleged that the school did not inform them of several bullying incidents, including one where the third grader was pushed into a bathroom wall and knocked unconscious for seven minutes two days before his death. Taye’s family says their child suffered physical abuse from classmates on several occasions and claims officials did not follow proper protocol or call paramedics to render aid.
The school district maintains that the school’s principal, nurse, or other employees were responsible for Gabriel’s death, but that “resolution of this difficult matter is in the best interest of all parties.”
“CPS does embrace the elimination of bullying within schools, as well as continuing to refine and improve reporting, management, and training processes related to incidents of bullying,” an attorney representing the district said in a statement.
Gabriel’s parents launched the Gabriel B.Taye Foundation to bring awareness to bullying “for every child or teen who has or is suffering as a result of bullying.”
If you or someone you know need immediate mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. These additional resources are also available:
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
The National Alliance on Mental Illness 1-800-950-6264
The Association of Black Psychologists 1-301-449-3082
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America 1-240-485-1001
For more mental health resources, clickHERE.
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