Wendy Walsh Sues Tehachapi Unified School District For Wrongful Death In Suicide Of 13 Year Old Son Seth

Days after a federal investigation found that the Tehachapi Unified School District failed to investigate or respond appropriately to the bullying of a gay, 13 year old middle school student who hanged himself due to the harassment, his mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, according to a report by The Bakersfield Californian. In fact, the findings of the investigation released Friday are the foundation for Wendy Walsh's suit. The suit states that ongoing harassment of her son Seth was common knowledge by school staff, they did little to put a stop to it, and because of the negligence, Seth hanged himself. Walsh, in a suit filed Tuesday, is seeking compensation for wrongful death damages, medical expenses and punitive damages. In September, Seth Walsh hanged himself in his backyard, and died a week later. He left a suicide note expressing anger at his school "for bringing you this sorrow." Tehachapi Unified's school board in April rejected a wrongful death claim filed by Walsh, as is routine; the filing and rejection of a claim is often the precursor to a lawsuit. The suit names as defendants Tehachapi Unified Superintendent Richard Swanson, Jacobsen Middle School Principal Susan Ortega, Vice Principal Paul Kaminski, teacher (first name not clear) Kirby, teacher Laura Haight, teacher Laura Kabonic and teacher Marty Feehan. The findings of the seven-month investigation by the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice released Friday is being regarded by some civil rights groups as "landmark." As a result of that investigation, Tehachapi Unified will soon be taking several steps to stop sexual- and gender-based harassment, prevent its recurrence and eliminate a hostile environment. That includes revising policies; training all students, administrators, teachers and other staff; and repeatedly surveying the campuses on sex-based harassment issues. Walsh's attorney Daniel Rodriguez (who has 30 years of experience, including on several high-profile wrongful death cases) called the investigative findings by the federal agencies "powerful," and gives a "real perspective." "This is a separate independent look at the case," Rodriguez said of the federal investigation. "An objective look at the school environment." Tehachapi Unified officials disagreed with and disputed the federal investigation's findings, but signed off on making changes.