Cincinnati district to pay $3M after 8-year-old student killed himself

A Cincinnati school district has agreed to pay $3 million to the family of an 8-year-old student who died by suicide more than four years ago.

Under a settlement reached on Friday, Cincinnati Public Schools will pay $3 million to the family of Gabriel Taye, a third grader who took his own life after being bullied by his classmates at Carson Elementary School.

The school district also said it will establish stronger anti-bullying measures that would be monitored twice a year by lawyers for Taye’s parents, and create a memorial for Taye at Carson.

The agreement is subject to approval of the Board of Education, which is expected to vote on Monday.

The New York Times reported that Taye was punched, beaten and mocked repeatedly by his classmates. In one incident, he was reportedly yanked to the floor, and knocked unconscious.

Taye’s mother sent him back to school two days after the incident, unaware of what had occurred, according to the Times.

After facing more bullying at school, Taye returned home and hanged himself from his bunk bed with one of his neckties, the Times reported.

Aaron M. Herzig, a lawyer representing the school district, said the administration “strongly believes” the school and its employees were not responsible for Taye’s “tragic death.”

An investigation following Taye’s death by his parents revealed that the district had under-reported cases of bullying.

According to the Times, the district only reported four cases of bullying that year, but incident logs obtained by Taye’s family lawyers revealed dozens of incidents of students, and one teacher, being harassed, threatened with violence or punched and kicked by other students.

According to a lawsuit, several parents took their children out of the school as a result of the bullying.

People experiencing suicidal thoughts or urges can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.