Isabella Tichenor was a 10-year-old autistic student who died by suicide in November after suffering extensive bullying at Foxboro Elementary in Farmington, Utah. Her mother, Brittney Tichenor, alleged that Isabella was bullied due to her race and disability. However, a newly released report uncovered surprising details regarding the fifth grader’s treatment at the school.
According to CNN, an investigative report from the Davis School District concluded that classmates and teachers told Isabella she smelled and needed to bathe. Still, the three-person review team found no “direct evidence” claiming that she was bullied based on her race and disability.
The review team noted that “issues relating to race, disability, and poverty sometimes intersect and when they do, can further complicate already challenging situations. It can be very difficult to extricate one from the others.”
“When a student told Izzy she needed to wash her hair, this comment could have been borne out of racial animus, could have been an innocuous observation, or could have been a cloaked insult about poverty,” the report said.
However, the recent findings suggest that the school failed to protect the 10-year-old by investigating her mother’s allegation that Isabella was bullied long before her death.
The report also found that school officials at Foxboro did not show “actual knowledge” of the school district’s definition of “bullying,” which led to an environment that allowed bullying to go “underreported, uninvestigated, and unaddressed.”
Weeks before Isabella’s death, the Justice Department released a report highlighting the Davis School District’s handling of situations regarding Black and Asian American students who have been harassed for years. School officials intentionally ignored complaints from parents and students, prompting the DOJ to initiate a settlement agreement released in October. The district has been under investigation by the agency since July 2019.
Tyler Ayres, an attorney representing Isabella’s family, said students repeatedly called her the N-word and bullied her for being autistic, the Associated Press reported.
“We don’t take umbrage with the children,” Ayres said. “We take umbrage with the adults who chose not to do anything about it. The adults who were in charge there should have taken these kids aside.”
Shauna Lund, a spokeswoman for Davis School District, said Foxboro Elementary “worked extensively with the family” and responded to reports of bullying, News Onyx reported.
“We, like everyone, are devastated by the death of this child,” Lund said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the family. Foxboro Elementary has worked extensively with the family and will continue to provide help to them and others impacted by this tragedy.”
The Davis School District issued a statement in response to the report’s findings and sent condolences to Isabella’s family.
“We are taking it seriously. We vow to continue our ongoing and extensive efforts to foster a welcoming environment for all students in the Davis School District,” the statement said.
