NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. — A lawsuit has been filed against the New Kensington-Arnold School District by the parents of a 14-year-old student who took her own life last year.
Julie Krebs and Tim Krebs, the parents of Destinee Krebs, claim their daughter was pushed to suicide after relentless bullying at school, and the federal lawsuit outlines the district’s failures to identify and appropriately respond to bullying.%
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"She didn't deserve to pass away. She didn't deserve the things that happened to her. If we can prevent one more child from doing what she did, that's all that's going to matter,” Julie Krebs told Channel 11 News on Thursday.
Destinee, a ninth-grader at Valley High School, took her own life in February 2015.
"We're supposed to have three children in the house, and we only have two. It's just an odd, odd feeling,” Tim Krebs said.
The suit filed against the New Kensington-Arnold School District, as well as several employees, claims years of bullying and abuse endured by the teenager went unchecked.
The lawsuit states that the district violated the rights of Krebs and her parents through “…perpetual failures and egregious non-responsiveness to repeated pleas for help and protection from peer-harassment and bullying.”
The attorney for Destinee’s parents said the teenager was verbally and physically bullied by other students, both in school and on Facebook.
In an exchange detailed in the lawsuit, “Students encouraged Destinee to ‘go kill yourself’ while continuing to attack her appearance, intelligence and sexuality.”
Her parents said Destinee fell into a deep depression, lost weight and began cutting herself.
"She didn't laugh. She didn't know how to have fun anymore. She didn't know how to be a kid,” Julie Krebs said.
Despite Destinee’s parents repeatedly making school administrators and counselors aware of the bullying, the suit claims little was done to stop it.
"I remember a conversation that I had with Destinee when she was cutting, and I said, ‘Don't make me bury my child,’” Tim Krebs said.
The Krebs said they got Destinee professional help in November 2014, but four months later, she was gone. Since then, the Krebs have worked to keep their daughter’s memory alive, making T-shirts, creating a clothing drive in her honor and starting a bullying support group.
"I didn't want another child in that district to lose their life over this. I want them to know there's somewhere they can go, someone they can trust that can help them,” Julie Krebs said.
Several resources related to bullying, including an unlawful harassment policy, are listed on the New Kensington-Arnold School District’s website. But the lawsuit claims the policy was not followed.
New Kensington-Arnold Superintendent John Pallone expressed deep sympathy for the Krebs family over their loss, but told Channel 11 News that the district does not comment on pending litigation.
- Re:solve Crisis Network: You can speak with a trained counselor at 1-888-7-YOU-CAN
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