Mother Of Teen Who Overdosed On Fentanyl At School Sues LAUSD

LOS ANGELES, CA — Accusing school officials of turning a blind eye to rampant drug use on the Bernstein High School campus, the mother of a 15-year-old girl who died of an overdose in a school bathroom announced a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District Wednesday.

Elena Perez's 15-year-old daughter Melanie Ramos was one of seven fentanyl overdoses linked to the campus within a week in September. The tragedy sent shockwaves through the city and prompted district-wide changes. However, school officials should have taken action sooner to protect students, an attorney for Perez said.

The suit alleges school officials knew there was a problem with drug use at the campus but took no action. The LAUSD knew that Bernstein was a "haven" for drugs, attorney Michael Carrillo said during a downtown news conference.

"Kids would be buying and selling and using drugs in the bathroom at Bernstein and administrators on campus did nothing about it," he said. "They knew, because there were six prior calls to Bernstein High School for potential drug overdoses in 2022 alone. Six prior. How do you not make any changes to protect kids?"

Melanie was found dead on a bathroom floor at the school on the night of Sept. 13, hours after the family claims that school officials realized she was missing. Authorities said the girl ingested a pill she thought was Percocet, but was believed to be laced with fentanyl.

In a statement, an LAUSD representative said, "Los Angeles Unified does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation. However, the safety and well- being of our students and employees remains our top priority."

Following the girl's death, police and district officials said that around 8 p.m. Sept. 13, a man went to Bernstein high, at 1309 N. Wilton Place, in search of his stepdaughter, who had not returned from school.

He found his stepdaughter suffering from apparent overdose symptoms, although she was still conscious and was able to tell him that one of her friends was in a girls' bathroom, officials said. The man and a school employee found the other girl -- Melanie Ramos -- unresponsive in the bathroom, where she died.

Attorneys for Melanie's mother said school officials notified her family early that afternoon that her daughter was missing.

"It took hours for them to find my niece," Melanie's aunt, Gladys Manriques, said during Wednesday's news conference. "Where was the staff? Where (were) the teachers? Where was the administration? If it wasn't for the other (girl's) parent, then my niece wouldn't have been found, until maybe until the next day. That's why we want justice."

Los Angeles police Chief Michel Moore said Ramos and her friend purchased at least one pill they thought was the pain killer Percocet. The drug is believed to have been laced with the deadly synthetic drug fentanyl, he said.

Days later, police announced the arrest of a 15-year-old boy who allegedly sold the drug to the two students on the Bernstein campus, and a 16- year-old boy was arrested for allegedly peddling drugs to another student at nearby Lexington Park. Moore said both suspects were students at APEX Academy charter school, which is located on the campus of Bernstein High School.

The teen's death also prompted the district to announce that all of its campuses would be supplied with doses of the anti-overdose medication Narcan. The district also announced plans for a sweeping anti-drug information campaign for students and parents to warn of the dangers of fentanyl.

A month after Ramos died on the Bernstein campus, a 17-year-old musician and high school baseball player from Woodland Hills died from a fentanyl overdose.

Fentanyl overdoses among Los Angeles teens has more than tripled since the start of the pandemic, reaching crisis levels as schools, health officials and parents grapple with the suddenly ubiquitous and deadly drug.

Through mid-July of last year, fatal drug overdoses among Los Angeles teens was up more than 330 percent, according to the Los Angeles County Department Public Health. Recently, the California Department of Public Health found that Fentanyl-related overdose deaths in California's youth ages 10-19 years spiked by 625 percent. The state saw 261 fentanyl-related overdose deaths among youths in 20201 up from 36 in 2018.

In most of these cases, the victims were unaware they are ingesting fentanyl. The cheap, potent and highly addictive substance is used to lace everything from methamphetamine to opioids, ecstasy, and painkillers such as Percocet. Los Angeles Unified School District officials warned parents that teens may be buying drugs online. According to the county health department, drugs purchased online are frequently laced with fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be as much as 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

In many ways, the ease of access to fentanyl and its explosion on the local drug scene, caught schools, health officials, police and parents in Los Angeles unprepared.

There are steps families can take to reduce the risk of fatal fentanyl-related overdoses, according to the Los Angeles County Public Department of Health.

1. Have Narcan or Naloxone on hand. It can be purchased without a prescription at California pharmacies.
2. Avoid purchasing drugs from unreliable sources. Drugs from strangers or purchased online pose a significant risk of being contaminated with life-threatening substances.
3. Never use drugs alone. Have a trusted person present as a safeguard in case of overdose. Anyone using drugs alone can call Never Use Alone at 1-800-484-3731 and an operator will remain on the line and will call emergency services if the user stops responding.
4. Test drugs before using them. Fentanyl test strips identify contaminated drugs. Although such test strips aren't 100 percent reliable, they can save lives if used correctly. You can purchase them affordably online at: BTNX, Dose Test, Dance Safe, Wisebatch, or TACO.
5. Know the signs of an opioid overdose: Stupor or altered mental state

• Loss of consciousness
• Slowed or erratic heart rate
• Respiratory depression or failure
• Nausea or vomiting
• Pinpoint pupils
• Skin color changes
• Seizures
• Cold and clammy skin
• Muscle Spasms