GARWOOD — The family of a 12-year-old boy who took his own life after what they allege were repeat incidences of harassment and bullying has filed suit against the Garwood Board of Education, the school district and the principal of Lincoln School for claims of fostering a hostile environment and failing to intervene on the student’s behalf.
According to a complaint filed in New Jersey Superior Court earlier this year, Eziah Rodriguez started the 2022-2023 school year as a new sixthgrade student in Garwood.
“[Eziah] was subjected to an ongoing pattern of harassment, intimidation and bullying by students of Lincoln School, of which Defendants were fully aware,” the complaint, filed on behalf of Eziah’s parents, Franklin Rodriguez and Daisy Galenao, notes. The document goes on to allege that Eziah was frequently bullied by other students who insulted him for being Hispanic (statistics gathered by U.S. News and World Report indicate Garwood’s student population is about 75 percent White) and publicly shamed him about his perceived sexual orientation and his weight Eziah also suffered from eczema, a medical condition that caused his skin to become itchy and visibly flaky.
Shortly after the school year began, Eziah’s mother met with Lincoln School Principal Mary Emmons during an orientation event. Ms. Galenao informed Ms. Emmons that her son was consistently being “picked on” by four boys (two of whom are identified in the complaint asA.M. and X) in his grade.
The complaint alleges that, “[Ms.] Emmons did nothing to explore the specifics of Daisy’s complaint. Consequently, no Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) complaint and/or investigation was initiated by [Ms.] Emmons, nor did she advise Daisy that she had the right to initiate a HIB complaint.”
School policy dictates that “[a] school administrator who receives a report of harassment, intimidation, and bullying from a district employee, and fails to initiate or conduct an investigation, or who should have known of an incident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying and fails to take sufficient action to minimize or eliminate the harassment, intimidation, or bullying, may be subject to disciplinary action.”
As the school year went on, Eziah continued to struggle at school. On September 23, 2022, Theresa Parkill, a counselor and the anti-bullying specialist at Lincoln, was advised by a parent that she overheard that A.M. and another student were planning to “jump” Eziah at a local park.
“However, based on information and belief, no action was taken by Defendants to investigate A.M.’s threat,” the complaint notes.
Later that same month, Eziah’s sister, identified in the complaint as Y.R., told her teacher that her brother was being bullied.
The complaint alleges that Ms. Emmons promised to “keep an eye out” for Eziah during recess and that she would alert the teachers to the same, but never asked Y.R. for any further details regarding the bullying and based upon information and belief never opened a HIB investigation.
Then, in October, Ms. Galenao wrote a letter to Michelle Coyle, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker employed by the district, asking that her son be kept away from certain students.
“I was hoping to find out how Eziah is doing. I also wanted to know if… Eziah could get switched to another class. He has a hard time with [A.M.] and a few other boys in class. [A.M.] is consistently picking on him and whispering things that make him uncomfortable and Eziah feels like he has to constantly look over his shoulder. If there is any way he can switch, I would really appreciate it!”
Finally, after A.M. allegedly threatened Eziah with physical violence, Ms. Galenao took matters to the Garwood Police.
Shortly thereafter, Ms. Galenao attended a parent/teacher conference where, according to the complaint, Eziah’s teachers advised her, for the first time, that Eziah “did not appear to be engaged with his schoolwork and was barely participating in class.”
“This was the first time that these concerns were brought to Daisy’s attention,” the complaint notes.
On November 24, 2022, Eziah’s sister, then in the eighth grade, discovered her brother hanging in the bathroom with a belt around his neck. She cut the belt and called the police.
Eziah was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway, where he was pronounced dead at 8:01 p.m.
Now, his parents are seeking a trial by jury, alleging via the complaint that the district, its administration and the board of education engaged in negligent behavior, fostered a hostile environment and caused their son’s wrongful death. A fourth count alleges that the district violated state law by failing to protect Eziah from “conscious pain, suffering, disability, mental and emotional anguish, distress, and loss of life’s pleasures.”
Requests for comment from the family’s attorneys (Javerbuam, Wurgaft, Hicks, Kahn, Wikstrom and Sinins) and the Garwood school district were not returned at the time of publication.
