Isabella “Izzy” Tichenor died by suicide this Saturday after a classmate allegedly bullied her. Here is everything you need to know about the case and the student.
Isabella Izzy Tichenor took her own life on Saturday due to the alleged bullying she faced at school. As per her family, the school authorities ignored the complaint.
Just a week prior to the incident Justice Department publicly described that interracial students were harassed at the Davis School District in Farmington for years. Followingly, the report also says that officials purposely neglected complaints from parents and students.
The investigation of the school has been going on since 2019. The attorney Tyler Ayres stated to CNN that Izzy was a happy child and did well in the school.
Isabella Izzy Tichenor Death By Suicide
Isabella “Izzy” Tichenor died due to suicide at such a young age. Just a month prior to the incident, her family was displaced and they were living in a minivan.
As per the reports, she attempted suicide on November 3 and lost her life due to injuries on November 6. Izzy had one or more diagnosed disabilities and had undergone unstable housing.
She was a fifth-grader at Foxboro Elementary School in the Davis School District. The report described her as a happy and friendly child who always had a smile on her face.
The authorities have gathered the evidence and believe that Izzy’s family was displaced at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. There was an allegation of harassment, bullying, and discrimination based on race and disability against Isabella Tichenor.
However, as per the independent investigation, they did not find direct evidence to support allegations that she was bullied on the basis of race and/or disability.
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The Department of Justice announced that suicide is the result of the two-year probe during which Black students in the Davis School District. The Investigators followingly said that non-black students repeatedly called the N-word or other racial epithets.
Followingly, the report stated that they told their skin was dirty or looked like feces. According to DOJ, most of the black students’ harassment was so pervasive and happened so often in front of adults.
Further in the investigation, they noted that there was an ineffective response to incidents of racial harassment “for years.” In the part of the settlement, the school must create a new department to handle complaints of race discrimination.
In addition, they should train staff on how to identify and investigate. The authorities must respond to complaints of racial harassment and discriminatory discipline practices.