13 Questions Owasso Public Schools Won’t Answer About Nex Benedict
When Nex Benedict’s death was conclusively determined to be suicide, media more or less stopped covering it. That scares me, because the story is not yet over.
Benedict’s death initially presented itself as a neat narrative: He was beaten by three girls in a school bathroom, he lost consciousness, he sustained a brain injury, he died, the local authorities covered it up. That narrative understandably upset people. Lots of people refused to believe anything but this version of events. When it was proven false, they moved on.
True evil – institutional, structural evil – doesn’t put on a mask and stab people. It just makes certain people’s deaths a foregone conclusion. It’s the evil of the cop in the leaked body camera footage as he tells Nex’s clearly enraged and frightened mother that, even if three girls had jumped her kid, pinned him to the floor, and beaten him unconscious, Nex was equally at fault for squirting them with water. It’s the bland pleasantness in his voice as he says that Nex could try his chances in court — of course, of course, he would never tell them not to do that — but the cop would be forced to arrest Nex for “starting” the fight if they tried that, and gosh, isn’t that just too bad?
At the end of that video, the cop, who worked at Nex’s school, assures him that he’ll see him again. “I hope not,” Nex says. He was dead of suicide less than a day later. A brain injury is a neat narrative. But the hopelessness of a teenager who was told — politely, warmly, with a smile — that he would be arrested if he tried to resist being beaten at school is also a profound and horrific injustice, one that deserves redress.
Nex Benedict’s death is a story about structural failure. That story is harder to pitch because it sounds dry and technical. It has to do with Title IX, the civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded schools. Basically: If Owasso Public Schools failed to protect students from being bullied on the grounds of their gender and sexual identity, they violated Title IX and can have their funding yanked. Classes will be cut, resources will be lost, people will be laid off. The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights can use the threat of yanked funding to mandate changes in how the school operates: "do X, Y and Z or the lacrosse team gets it," that sort of thing.
If the assault happened the way Nex and his mother say it did, Owasso probably wasn’t complying with Title IX. However, we also know for a fact that Owasso will not comply to Title IX in the future. We know this because, last week, Oklahoma state superintendent of Ryan Walters went on the record to say that Oklahoma state schools will not follow Title IX guidelines, which the Biden administration recently revised to (even more explicitly) protect trans students. Four other states — Florida, Louisiana, Montana, and South Carolina — have also refused to comply. As I wrote in my last piece for Xtra, this is likely to end up in front of the Supreme Court soon.
We are fighting over whether trans students count as students, whether trans people count as people, whether trans children count as children who are entitled to an equal education under the law. We are also still fighting about Nex Benedict, because his death is a clear example of what happens when the system breaks down.
In the course of reporting that Xtra article, I contacted the office of Ryan Walters, the Department of Education, and the principal of Owasso High School, Tiffani Cooper. (Unbelievably, the school’s website lists Cooper as not only the principal, but the “bullying incident coordinator,” a title she seems to have wildly misread.) The Department of Education couldn’t comment on an investigation in progress, Walters’ office never got back to me, but Cooper kicked me over to the Director of Communications for Owasso Public Schools, Jordan Korphage.
I expected Korphage to issue a bland PR-person statement — so sorry about the dead kid, what a tragedy, doing everything possible to cooperate, etc. — that I could run in the article. That’s mostly what I got – a series of canned statements, sometimes obviously cut-and-pasted into the body of the email — but I also got part of their strategy: Korphage told me that there was no record of Nex Benedict being bullied at Owasso High School.
To be precise, Korphage claimed that “to the district’s knowledge,” Benedict had not filed an incident report to the correct people in the 2023-24 school year, and that no-one had filed a report for him. Since the substance of the investigation concerns Nex being unable to report, because the adults at school refused to respond appropriately even if and when he was beaten unconscious, that was an obvious lie — Korphage and whoever else wrote the statements were avoiding the subject so hard that they actively bent the truth. It’s like saying “we can’t know for sure that John fell down the well because no-one asked him about it.” John can’t answer our questions. We can’t ask them, because he’s down the fucking well. The school denied Benedict and his mother a voice, then claimed there was no problem because they hadn’t said anything.
You can make a case that Owasso were just doing their jobs, avoiding liability, but here’s the other thing that stands out about the exchange: The “so sorry a kid died” part? The what-a-tragic-loss, we’re-all-so-sad, performative-grief bit that I expected them to include just so that they didn’t sound like total monsters? It wasn’t in there. I spent a week emailing with Jordan Korphage and the Owasso school district, and in that entire time, he expressed not a bit of regret that this child had died.
So I’ve decided to print the whole exchange. Here are the thirteen questions I asked Jordan Korphage and the Owasso Public Schools, along with the answers I received. The answers are under the questions, in italics, for ease of reading. Especially relevant bits are in bold. I include this not because it’s a revelatory interview — it’s a non-interview, until the very end, when Korphage seemingly gets angry at me — but because these questions matter, and there are no answers.
Nex Benedict is still dead. The investigation of Owasso Public Schools is still ongoing. To the queer kids of Owasso and to their allies: If you saw anything, if you witnessed anything, if anything happened to you or to anyone you know, come forward to the DOE as soon as possible. The adults are already talking, and you are the ones who can spot the lies.
Hi Jordan —
Great! Thanks so much for getting back to me. Here are my questions, which I'll try to keep brief:
1) What steps have been taken to address or remedy the bullying of LGBTQ+ students since the death of Nex Benedict?
As outlined in our district’s strategic plan, our objective is to create a safe and nurturing environment. As part of our process to review our policies, curriculum, and programs, district leaders have begun meeting and collaborating with parents, community members, and teachers to seek feedback. Moving forward district leadership remains committed to listening and collaborating with our students, families, staff and community and look forward to receiving input from our stakeholders.
2) What were the bullying policies prior to Nex's death? Were those policies actively being followed, and if so, how was it possible for Nex's assault to occur?
The district’s bullying policy is #5.13 (Prohibiting Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying) and can be found on page 420 of the district’s policy manual.
As a district, the safety and security of our students is our top priority and we are committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. Bullying in any form is unacceptable. We take reports of bullying very seriously and have policies and procedures in place to address such behavior. All reported bullying accusations are investigated by administrators at the school site in which they occur, and are reviewed by the district’s Director of Safety and Security.
We encourage anyone who witnesses or experiences bullying to speak up and report it to a parent, teacher, coach, administrator or any trusted adult. Individuals can also share their concerns and report bullying, even anonymously, by visiting the district’s Bullying Prevention page, which is located under “Quicklinks” on the district’s homepage. It is important for students to know that they are not alone and that their voices will be heard. All reports are investigated by district administrators.
To the district’s knowledge, there were no reported bullying incidents by Nex or on Nex’s behalf during the 2023-2024 school year.
3) The Owasso school district is currently under investigation from the Department of Education. How is that investigation proceeding? Are you in contact with the OCR? Have they recommended any steps to take, and what are they?
The district has cooperated fully with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights investigation and continues to believe that the complaint is not supported by the facts and is without merit.
Hello Jordan –
Thanks so much for your quick response. I just wanted to loop back around with a follow-up, to make sure I'm totally clear on a few key points.
You've told me that "to the district’s knowledge, there were no reported bullying incidents by Nex or on Nex’s behalf during the 2023-2024 school year." Part of this lines up with my understanding of the incident. In the released body cam footage, after the assault, Benedict says that he did not report his bullying to the school because he believed nothing would be done. The part that stands out to me is that there was one incident the school was definitely aware of. In the released body cam footage after the assault that preceded Nex's death, Nex's mother says that she was told by principal Tiffani Cooper that there was no need to call the police and that they would "talk about it in a couple of days;" the officer says that Cooper was supposed to have called him if an assault happened, and that the school was at fault.
1) Does Cooper deny any part of this account – not calling the police, telling Benedict's mother that she would not call the police, or that, according to school policy, she was supposed to have called an officer if an assault took place on school grounds?
OPS District policy 1.69 states:
Parents have the right to receive prompt notice if their minor child is believed to be the victim of a crime perpetrated by someone other than the parent, unless law enforcement or DHS officials have determined that parental notification would impede the related investigation. These notice provisions do not apply to matters which involve routine misconduct typically addressed through student discipline procedures.
Even when matters involve routine misconduct typically addressed through student discipline procedures, it is a parent’s right to involve law enforcement. Should they choose to file a police report, school resource officers are made available to the parents/guardians either at that time or they can schedule an appointment, if they choose, at a later date. These practices were followed by our administrative team after this incident.
2) Other LGBTQ+ students have come forward to say they were bullied at Owasso schools – for instance, one student says that he has intermittently had to attend classes online rather than in person, due to bullying over his sexuality, including being called "faggot" on school grounds. Was the Owasso school district aware of these incidents, or of any other incidents of students being bullied on the basis of sexual and gender identity?
Without the names of the specific students to whom you refer, the district cannot determine what specific actions were taken as to any complaint made and/or whether those specific actions can be disclosed in conformity with state and federal privacy laws.
[VISIBLY COPY-PASTED TEXT:] As a district, the safety and security of our students is our top priority and we are committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. Bullying in any form is unacceptable. We take reports of bullying very seriously and have policies and procedures in place to address such behavior. All reported bullying accusations are investigated by administrators at the school site in which they occur, and are reviewed by the district’s Director of Safety and Security.
We encourage anyone who witnesses or experiences bullying to speak up and report it to a parent, teacher, coach, administrator or any trusted adult. Individuals can also share their concerns and report bullying, even anonymously, by visiting the district’s Bullying Prevention page, which is located under “Quicklinks” on the district’s homepage. It is important for students to know that they are not alone and that their voices will be heard. All reports are investigated by district administrators.
3) How many cases of bullying aimed at LGBTQ+ students have been reported in the Owasso school district in 2023 - 2024, or (if you have access to the data) in the past four years?
The district does not maintain a database of which students identify as LGBTQ+.
4) Presumably it's not just children who witness bullying on school grounds. Adult staff, such as teachers, would also be able to see some of this take place, or hear about it. Does the school have a policy of encouraging teachers to intervene, or to prevent and/or discipline bullying? Or does the school only take action on bullying if a student files a report to the correct person?
As I shared with you yesterday, OPS Policy 5.13 (Prohibiting Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying) outlines the responsibilities of a staff member:
An important duty of the staff is to report acts or behavior that the employee witnesses that appear to constitute harassing, intimidating, or bullying. Employees, whether certified or non certified, shall encourage students who tell them about acts that may constitute intimidation, harassment, or bullying to complete a report form. For young students, staff members given that information will need to provide direct assistance to the student.
Staff members who witness such events are to complete reports and to submit them to the building principal. Staff members who hear of incidents that may, in the staff member’s judgment, constitute harassment, intimidation, or bullying, are to report all relevant information to the building principal.
5) You say that "The district has cooperated fully with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights investigation and continues to believe that the complaint is not supported by the facts and is without merit." Can you clarify for me which part you deny -- that Benedict was bullied, that the school neglected its responsibility to Benedict, or that there was a hostile climate for LGBTQ+ students overall?
A letter dated March 1, 2024 from OCR indicated that it was “opening the following issues for investigation: (1) Whether the District failed to appropriately respond to alleged harassment of students in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title IX, and (2) Whether the District failed to appropriately respond to alleged harassment of students in a manner consistent with the requirements of Section 504 [of the Rehabilitation Act] and Title II [of the Americans with Disabilities Act].”
[VISIBLY COPY-PASTED TEXT:] The district has cooperated fully with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights investigation and continues to believe that the complaint is not supported by the facts and is without merit.
6) Finally: In regard to the incident before Nex's death, Sue Benedict says Cooper promised to "talk about it in a couple of days." What disciplinary measures, if any, were taken against the students who assaulted Nex Benedict?
Due to state and federal privacy laws, the district does not disclose disciplinary action taken against any student. That information can only be given to the parents/guardians of the student being disciplined.
Hello Jordan --
Once again, thanks for your responsiveness. I'm sorry to be a pest, but while we were speaking, Ryan Walters has told reporters that Oklahoma public schools will no longer follow Title IX guidelines. (https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-ryan-walters-title-ix-rule-transgender-school-bathrooms/60592615). As you can imagine, this changes the direction of my reporting. A few more follow-ups for you:
1) You describe the assault on Nex Benedict as "routine misconduct." The account from Nex and his mother was that three girls attacked him, held him down, and beat him unconscious. How routine is it for students to be beaten to the point of losing consciousness? How many physical assaults on that level of severity does the Owasso public school district have on record in the last school year? Were law enforcement officers contacted in any of those cases?
We did not, at any time, describe the incident involving Nex as “routine misconduct”. [NOTE: In the last round of questions, when I asked why the principal had not contacted law enforcement, Korphage responded by telling me that schools did not have an obligation to call law enforcement in cases of “routine misconduct,” a phrase he used twice.] Our previous response simply reiterated that according to our policy, it is a parent’s right to involve law enforcement at any time - even when matters involve routine misconduct typically addressed through student discipline procedures.
To be clear, should a parent/guardian choose to file a police report, school resource officers are made available to the parents/guardians either at that time or they can schedule an appointment, if they choose, at a later date. These practices were followed by our administrative team after this incident.
2) You further say that you can't provide records or numbers on LGBTQ students being harassed for their gender and sexual identity because "the district does not maintain a database of which students identify as LGBTQ+." If Owasso does not recognize or keep records on students being harassed or bullied for gender and sexual identity, how can it maintain its obligation to treat those students as a protected class under Title IX?
OPS investigates and responds to any reported incident of harassment or bullying, regardless of a student’s sexual identity. Because OPS does not maintain a list of students who have been identified as LGBTQ+, the only time OPS becomes aware of a student’s sexual identity is when the child or parent/guardian determines it is relevant to disclose this information.
3) I understand if you can't provide me with records of disciplinary action for minors. How about disciplinary actions for adults? Has Tiffani Cooper received any disciplinary warnings or action after the assault on Nex? If so, what were they? What is the typical penalty for a principal who has a student die on her watch?
Due to confidentiality and privacy concerns, the district does not discuss personnel matters.
4) You've maintained that Owasso has not violated its Title IX obligations. Will Owasso continue to uphold Title IX if instructed to disobey it by State Superintendent Ryan Walters? What [effect] will the order to disobey Title IX have on your procedures going forward?
Your question asks the district to speculate as to the occurrence of some possible future event, and OPS does not believe it is appropriate to do so.