Feds Probe Seth Walsh Case, Alleged "Suicide by Bullying" in California
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Federal officials say a California school district is being investigated over its handling of harassment by classmates of gay 13-year-old Seth Walsh, who later committed suicide.
Justin Hamilton, a spokesman for Education Secretary Arne Duncan, confirmed the probe Tuesday.
Investigators from the department's civil rights division are trying to determine if employees of the Tehachapi Unified School District failed to address bullying that preceded the teen's death.
Walsh hanged himself from a backyard tree on Sept. 19 and died nine days later. He attended Jacobsen Middle School in Tehachapi, but had been given permission to be home-schooled because of ongoing problems.
District Superintendent Richard Swanson was not available to comment on the news of the investigation since the district is closed for the holiday break.
