Texas school district reports on investigation into bullying that led to girl’s suicide
The Gainesville Independent School District has released its findings after an investigation into a bullying incident that family members say led to the suicide of an 11-year-old student.
Jocelynn Rojo Carranza, a sixth-grader at Gainesville Intermediate School, died Feb. 8 at Medical City Dallas Hospital, according to her online obituary. She was found unresponsive at home Feb. 3.
Jocelynn had been bullied by classmates who threatened to call ICE over the family’s immigration status, her mother, Marbella Carranza, told Dallas’ Univision station KUVN-DT.
“Because her parents were Hispanic, they were going to call immigration to take her parents and she would be alone,” Marbella Carranza said in Spanish.
School district officials learned on Feb. 4 that Jocelynn was in the hospital, and on Feb. 5 classmates started coming forward to say that the 11-year-old had been bullied by another student, according to the report on Gainesville ISD’s investigation. District officials opened the internal investigation on Feb. 6.
It wasn’t clear from the report what that student had bullied Jocelynn about, but the student was disciplined in accordance with the district’s policies, officials wrote.
School officials said Jocelynn did talk to the principal at Gainesville Intermediate on Jan. 30 about a student on the school bus who had made “remarks regarding ICE and deportation to a group of Hispanic students,” the report states. The following day, the director of transportation confirmed that what Jocelynn said was true.
Jocelynn wasn’t seated with the group of students at whom the remarks were directed, but she was close enough to hear what was being said to them, the report states.
“It was found during this investigation that this was not a one-time occurrence,” officials said in the report.
The student who made those remarks was disciplined on Jan. 31, according to the report.
It also came out in the investigation that Jocelynn previously told a cousin that she’d had thoughts of harming herself, officials said. The cousin then told Jocelynn’s mother.
“This information was never shared with school officials, preventing the district from providing necessary resources and intervention,” the report states.
Jocelynn met one-on-one with a school counselor on Oct. 16 at the 11-year-old’s request. She “shared concerns about getting in trouble at home,” according to the report. She didn’t report at that time that she was being bullied.
“Prior to (Jocelynn’s) hospitalization, no official bullying report had been filed with the school that would have triggered the district’s bullying investigation protocols,” officials said in the report.
Marbella Carranza told KUVN that she learned after Jocelynn’s death that her daughter was going to counseling once or twice a week to report the bullying she was experiencing. Carranza said the school never told her Jocelynn was seeing a counselor.
School officials said Jocelynn participated in a social-emotional learning group led by a school counselor. She was selected based on a self-reporting assessment, and the sessions didn’t have anything to do with bullying, according to the district’s report.
“While her mother initially stated she was unaware of her daughter’s participation, the district has a signed permission slip authorizing her involvement,” the report states.
Jocelynn’s family has established a GoFundMe to help with her medical and funeral expenses.
According to Jocelynn’s obituary, the 11-year-old loved to dance, sing and swim and enjoyed Friday movie nights with her family.
“She was a wonderful daughter, sister, niece and friend to everyone,” the obituary states.
If you or a loved one is experiencing a crisis or suicidal thoughts, there is help available. Call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
