A Los Angeles school district has been ordered to pay $1 million after school administrators dismissed a teen’s bullying as adolescent drama born of a love triangle.
A jury on Aug. 25 found the El Segundo Unified School District liable for bullying endured over eight months in 2018 by Eleri Olive Irons, when she was 13 and 14.
Eleri and her parents, Christopher and Natalie Irons, sued in April 2019. The El Segundo Unified School District contended that principal Melissa Gooden had done her due diligence and was not responsible for protecting the girl, according to the Irons’ lawyers.
While school officials dismissed appeals for intervention by the girl and her parents, Eleri suffered PTSD that led her to cut herself, and she spent most lunch hours in the school nurse’s office seeking sanctuary, said her attorney, Christa Ramey.
The verdict “not only compensates my client but also clarifies, for all school administrators, what is bullying and to what extent are school authorities responsible when it happens,” said Ramey in a statement. “Every teacher, counselor and administrator who touched this case failed not only my client, but also the aggressors and every other student at the school. Bullying is to be taken seriously, and the administrators are culpable when they don’t stop it.”
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The school district said it would “respect the ruling of the court and acknowledge the findings of the lawsuit,” El Segundo Unified School District Superintendent Melissa Moore told the Daily News in a statement. “The next steps are up to our legal counsel. As we move forward, we are committed to self-improvement and doing everything we can to prevent bullying in our schools.”
Eleri is now 18 and heading to college. She was attending El Segundo Middle School when two girls began accusing her of stealing a boyfriend. Her tormentors “called her a liar,… cheater and boyfriend-stealer, flipped her off and made fun of her in the hallways, and even slapped her in the face,” the attorneys said. “They screamed at her in person and harassed her online.”
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“One girl in particular had been terrorizing my client all year,” Ramey told The News. “The language that she used was horrifying.”
Things got even uglier when a parent told Eleri’s father, Christopher Irons, that a student-written “Petition to End Eleri Irons’ Life” had circulated, and that teachers knew about it. Irons called the school, angry both that the petition had circulated without pushback, and that he had not heard about it from the school.
The jury awarded $700,000 in past noneconomic damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish and distress, Ramey told The News, and $300,000 in future noneconomic damages for PTSD repercussions that might arise years down the line.
Now recovered from her PTSD, Eleri said she forgives the main perpetrator and wants to protect other students — including the bullies — from bullying.
“The school let her down, too,” Eleri said of her main tormentor. “I just wanted to make sure the school knew what they did was wrong. Hopefully, this will not happen again to a little girl.”
El Segundo told The News that the district was instituting measures to ensure it wouldn’t, adding student safety assistant positions at two elementary schools, adopting a “tailored security assessment” for all the district’s schools, and implementing a district-wide safety plan. In addition, staff will be trained in how to evaluate threatening behavior, and a mobile app will allow students to anonymously report safety concerns.
“The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority,” Moore said. “We will continue to take the steps necessary to ensure a safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning environment for all.”
