The family of an 8-year-old boy who died by suicide after being bullied repeatedly is likely to strike a tentative $3 million agreement with the Ohio School District as they call for anti-bullying measures.
Bullies force a child to commit suicide
The victim, third-grader Gabriel Taye, is a student at Carson Elementary School who was bullied to the point that he died by suicide on January 26, 2017. His family went to court and filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) in 201, reported ABC News.
During a joint press statement by the CPS last Friday, lawyers for CPS and Gabriel's relatives disclosed a settlement agreement wherein the district and a city nurse decided to pay the family $3 million as compensation.
According to the CPS Board of Education, there will be a vote to decide if the deal is accepted.
What is included in the settlement?
There will be staff training, with efforts to identify repeat bullying perpetrators and sufferers, the capacity of nursing staff to report suspected incidents of harassment, and the use of "restorative justice principles" to intervene with students engaging in bullying will be part of the settlement.
Al Gerhardstein, the family's principal counsel, said in a statement, "The boy's family is using the compensation to safeguard present and future CPS students in their child's name. To make sure these changes remain and that bullying is eliminated across the CPS system," noted CPS-K-12.
Both CPS and the family's counsel will meet two times a year in the next two years to evaluate the changes, based on the agreement. The Ohio School District compensation for the family is a victory for anti-bullying.
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In addition, the proposal calls for "a suitable memorial" for Gabriel to be erected at Carson Elementary School.
Aaron Herzig stated that the resolution is "in the best interests of all sides."
He added that the defendants had no part in what happened in the death of Gabriel. The CPS agree that bullying should stop once and for all.
Another is to improve how bullying is handled by the school via improved reporting, management, and training processes to deal with school bullies.
The case was settled to "avoid the cost and risk of continuing the disputes" between both parties.
Gabriel was found unconscious in the boy's restroom by one of the students on Jan. 24, 2017, when it happened. The incident was allegedly recorded on school security footage. These same bullies did the same thing and beat the boy up in the same bathroom. After school, the victim killed himself by hanging.
But his parents felt the school allowed the bullying to continue and ignored it, they knew that the boy was bullied severely in the school repeatedly. However, they did not take any action.
To this effect, the CPD answered the 2017 lawsuit that the death of their students at the hands of bullies has affected them deeply.
Investigators ruled out foul play in the death
Prosecutors investigated Gabriel's death and closed the case without charges. The coroner ruled his death a suicide. The Ohio School District compensation for the family will bring back Gabriel Taye but reforms will make a change.
