Pols Demand 'Top-To-Bottom' Probe Of NYC Student's Suicide

NEW YORK — Two New York City Council members on Friday demanded an investigation into how the Department of Education's alleged failures may have led to a Bronx teenager's suicide.

Mya Vizcarrondo-Rios jumped to her death from the roof of her Bronx apartment building in February 2018 after other students at Harry S. Truman High School bullied and sexually assaulted her, according to news reports. In a lawsuit, the girl's parents reportedly say school staff ignored her complaints and kept the problems from her family.

Council members Helen Rosenthal and Mark Treyger want to know more about how a system that should have protected Mya ultimately failed her. They called on the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the city's school district to probe what went wrong and make sure anyone responsible is held accountable.

"Come on, Department of Education — pay attention to this. Stand up. Wake up," Rosenthal, a Manhattan Democrat, said at a Friday news conference outside City Hall. "People are throwing themselves off of buildings because you’re not paying attention."

"I want to see a top-to-bottom review to understand how the system failed her and to know exactly what we’re doing going forward," added Rosenthal, who chairs the Council's Committee on Women and Gender Equity.

In a letter to Special Commissioner of Investigation Anastasia Coleman, Rosenthal and Treyger said they are seeking information about how DOE staff responded to Mya's bullying concerns and a "detailed investigation" of the sexual assault that happened to her on the day she died.

A spokeswoman for the special commissioner, Regina Gluzmanova, said Friday that the agency had not yet received the letter but would review it when it arrives.

Mya, who was 15 when she died, put up with harassment, body-shaming and physical abuse from the time she entered the high school in September 2017, according to news reports. The bullying reportedly caused her to start missing school later that year even though she previously had been an honor student with perfect attendance.

Mya told the school's principal and a guidance counselor about what she was dealing with, but school officials only informed her parents about her attendance problems at a January 2018 meeting, reports say.

On Feb. 28, 2018, two boys took Mya to the back of an auditorium and forced her to perform sex acts on them, her parents' lawsuit reportedly says. She then left the school and jumped 34 stories to her death from the roof of the building where she lived, news reports say.

The case shows Mya was failed by a school system that does too little to address sexual violence among students, lawmakers and advocates say.

The Department of Education currently has just one coordinator handling complaints filed under Title IX, a federal civil rights law barring sex-based discrimination in public education, women's-rights activists said.

Advocacy groups such as Girls for Gender Equity called on the DOE to hire at least seven more Title IX coordinators. Treyger said the Council will demand more coordinators in the upcoming city budget due July 1.

"The lack of investment in properly utilizing Title IX resources and empowering teachers and staff, school leaders, to respond when incidents of sexual assault, sexual harassment have taken place are leaving our children vulnerable and costing students like Mya their lives," said Jamilah Lemieux, a cultural critic and communications strategist for Girls for Gender Equity.

The DOE says each school must have a so-called Sexual Harassment Prevention Liaison who receives annual training. Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza met with Girls for Gender Equity on Friday, and 3,000 school staffers have been trained since last year on sexual harassment, dating violence, healthy relationships and other topics, the DOE said.

A DOE spokeswoman stood by the department's anti-harassment efforts and the handling of Mya's case.

"Every student must have a safe and supportive school environment, and there is a Sexual Harassment Liaison in every school as well as a Title IX coordinator who oversees DOE compliance," the spokeswoman, Miranda Barbot, said in a statement. "Our initial review of the tragic loss of this student indicates that the situation was handled properly, and we will participate fully in any external investigation."

Anyone struggling with mental health can get help by calling National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visiting this website. New Yorkers can also find resources by calling 1-888-NYC-WELL.