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Chicago prep school withholds records from parents after bullied son's suicide: lawsuit
By Audrey Conklin
Published June 29, 2023
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Two Chicago parents are suing their son's school after staff allegedly refused to hand over his records following his suicide in January 2022.
Rose and Robert Bronstein allege in an April 2022 lawsuit that the Latin School of Chicago never told them when their son, Nate, went to staff with concerns about cyberbullying from his peers on apps like Snapchat about a month prior to his death by suicide.
In a new lawsuit filed earlier this month, the Bronsteins say the Latin School "has refused access" to their son's files despite a school contract clause that says parents "who wish to examine their child’s folder should call the division director for an appointment."
"The reason why we had to fight another lawsuit is because the Latin School of Chicago — they're refusing to give us our children's school files. … It's not just their grades and that kind of stuff," Rose Bronstein told Fox News Digital. "It's any communication around our children while they were there, so, emails, reports, notes — anything that relates to our children while they were there. And Latin is refusing to give them."
Prior to his suicide, the school's dean of students allegedly contacted the Bronstein family to tell them their son Nate had been put on notice for not wearing his mask correctly over his nose. (Rose and Robert Bronstein)
Bronstein said her family is "entitled to those records" after signing a contract with the school saying parents may review their children's records.
Her daughter also attended Latin School, and the school is allegedly refusing to hand over her records, as well.
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Prior to his suicide, the school's dean of students allegedly contacted the Bronsteins to tell them Nate had been put on notice for not wearing his mask correctly over his nose.
The Bronsteins enrolled Nate, whom they described as a "bright" and "energetic" boy with an intense love for sports, at the Latin School of Chicago as a sophomore in the fall of 2021. (Rose and Robert Bronstein)
The same dean of students, however, apparently failed to contact the Bronsteins when their son was being bullied, according to their 2022 lawsuit against the school seeking $100 million in damages.
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"Their first instinct, their second instinct and third instinct was to protect themselves and their careers. They could literally care less about the truth," Robert Bronstein previously told Fox News Digital of the school, which he claimed acted with "cruelty and callousness" before and after their son's death.
READ THE NEW LAWSUIT:
Now, the Bronsteins want to know if school staff documented any significant communication regarding Nate prior to his death.
"The question is, what are they trying to hide? They don't want to turn them over," Rose Bronstein said.
The Bronsteins enrolled Nate, whom they described as a "bright" and "energetic" boy with an intense love for sports, at the Latin School of Chicago as a sophomore in the fall of 2021.
Days after Nate Bronstein's suicide, another student apparently went to members of the Latin School administration to show evidence of the bullying Nate was subject to by his peers. (Google Maps)
He had spent the previous year online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and his parents wanted him to go back to in-person learning, which the Latin School, founded in 1888, promised parents.
However, when Nate started school, he was apparently subject to rumors that he had enrolled during his sophomore year for reasons that were not true.
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"They spread rumors that he was unvaccinated, which, of course, at the time was like 'The Scarlet Letter,'" Rose Bronstein previously explained.
The Bronstein family sued the Latin School of Chicago for $100 million in damages. (Rose and Robert Bronstein)
The bullying escalated on social media after Nate joined the basketball team. In a group chat with about 20 of his basketball teammates, included in the lawsuit, other players told Nate, "[D]on’t show up tomorrow," and called him a "snake ass n----." They also insinuated that they would physically harm the 15-year-old when they saw him, according to the family's lawyers.
Additionally, a widely circulated Snapchat message called Nate "a terrible person." A student also apparently saw a Snapchat that told Nate: "[G]o kill yourself."
The Bronsteins want parents to be aware that their children may be subject to or participating in cyberbullying on social media. (Rose and Robert Bronstein)
The Bronsteins had already made plans for Nate to transfer schools by the end of the spring semester after hearing about the harassment their son had been enduring, but by January it was too late.
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Days after Nate's suicide, parents of other students apparently went to members of the Latin School administration, including Head of Students Randall Dunn, to show evidence of the bullying Nate had endured on social media, the lawsuit states.
The Bronstein family alleges that the school never notified them when their son, Nate, went to school staff with concerns about the bullying he was being subject to on apps like Snapchat about a month prior to his death. (Rose and Robert Bronstein)
The complaint alleges that the school did not disclose that evidence to the Bronsteins until Jan. 27, 2022 — about two weeks after Nate's suicide.
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The Bronsteins have compared their son's suicide to the recent death of Jack Reid of The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. Reid, 17, died by suicide in a dorm on campus, which is located just outside of Trenton, on April 30, 2022, after he had endured "bullying and other forms of cruel behavior" at the boarding and day school.
Jack Reid, 17, died in a dorm at The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey on April 30, 2022, after he endured "bullying and other forms of cruel behavior" at the boarding and day school, Lawrenceville said in a statement. (The Jack Reid Foundation)
The difference, according to the Bronsteins, is that The Lawrenceville School conducted an independent investigation into Reid's death and posted a statement on its website as part of a settlement with the Reid family. The Latin School of Chicago has not done the same for the Bronsteins, the family said.
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The Latin School did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
The Bronsteins are trying to increase awareness about cyberbullying for other parents through their nonprofit, Buckets Over Bullying, which aims to "help prevent other families from enduring similar tragedy by the loss of a child in the same way."
https://www.foxnews.com/us/chicago-prep-school-withholds-records-parents-bullied-sons-suicide-lawsuit