Davis School District reaches $2M settlement with family of Izzy Tichenor

FARMINGTON — The Davis School District on Tuesday announced that it has reached a $2 million settlement with the family of Isabella "Izzy" Tichenor, who attended a district elementary school and died by suicide in 2021. Her family claimed the 10-year-old girl was bullied over her race and autism spectrum disorder.

"Today is the first day of the end of these injustices. Izzy's name will be forever recognized as the beginning of equal treatment for African Americans in Utah," the family's attorney, Tyler Ayres, said during a press conference Tuesday night.

Ayres announced a statue of Izzy will be placed in the Foxboro Elementary School library as a way to "never forget the injustice she suffered" and to give hope to all Black children in Utah because they can see "see someone who looks like them being celebrated in this state."

"This is an important story to every community — to every person in the state of Utah. Not just the minority community. Not just the school community. Every person needs this to get better and the district has made it possible for us to all take this step together," Ayres said.

The district and Izzy's family released a joint statement earlier in the day announcing the settlement.

"The tragic loss of Isabella 'Izzy' Tichenor in November of 2021 will always impact our community and school. Working together, Davis School District and Izzy's family have reached a mutual resolution. Davis School District is committed to making schools a safe and welcoming environment for all. Any form of racism, bigotry, discrimination or harassment within our schools is unacceptable and will not be tolerated," the joint statement said.

"The district encourages anyone who observes a student or staff member being harassed or bullied to report it right away. Reports of bullying will be thoroughly documented, addressed promptly and appropriate consequences will be administered," the statement continued.

Izzy's mother Brittany Tichenor spoke briefly at the press conference saying she is still grieving over Izzy, but she hopes to spread her name and help other people who are facing discrimination or mental health issues. Tichenor started "Izzy's Village," which provides suicide prevention resources and advocates against bullying and racism.

"I'm still having issues, grieving over her still. Just because you win some money, doesn't compare to the child not being here," Tichenor said.

Rae Duckworth, the Black Lives Matter Utah chapter's operating chairwoman — said Black Lives Matter is standing for Izzy and smiling for Izzy. She said the state and schools need to implement more mental health support.

"Our youth, they're the ones who are going to shape the future and if we don't properly support them from their mental to their physical, we are not doing them justice," Duckworth said.

Legislature agrees to settlement

The $2 million settlement was unanimously approved by leaders of the Utah Legislature on Tuesday.

A notice of claim filed by the family last year seeking $14 million said the fifth grader "was bullied, abused, harassed, and excluded from activities because she was female, learning disabled, poor, homeless and Black."

Ayres said he and the family had hoped for a larger settlement that would've sent a bigger message, but they are pleased with the district and accepted the settlement. He said the family is grateful the school district handled the situation without going to a trial and adding more trauma to the family.

There was the "possibility of a significant jury verdict, given that the case involved the death of a child and focuses on race, poverty and disability," Utah Division of Risk Management Director Rachel Terry told members of the Legislative Management Committee.

She said the district disputes the allegations and "has strong defenses, however, there are factual disputes in this case that likely would have required the case to go to trial," where it would have been expensive to litigate.

Terry said a trial "would have also been very difficult for Izzy's family and the Foxboro Elementary School and community." She said in approving the settlement, she relied on the Utah Attorney General's office and feedback received during mediation of the case.

The settlement was also approved by representatives of the attorney general's office, Utah Department of Government Operations Executive Director Marvin Dodge and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.

State law requires that any settlement totaling more than $1.5 million must also come before the Legislative Management Committee, made up of leaders from both the Legislature's majority Republican and minority Democratic parties.

Ayres said he is pleased with the cooperation from the school district and he is confident the district wants to be better and will improve.

"We are pleased with what the school district is saying but we are watching them. And we will be watching them for years to come," Ayres said.

Second settlement

Even before Tichenor's death, Davis School District was investigated for what the Department of Justice described as "serious and widespread racial harassment" in the district.

Black students in the district told Department of Justice investigators that they were routinely called the N-word or other racial epithets by other non-Black students, along with being told that their skin was dirty or looked like feces.

In addition to the settlement with the Tichenor family, the district also revealed a $200,000 settlement of a different matter with Nicole Sieger, Alonzo Liddell, Lisa Liddell and Kimberly Olsen.

In a letter to the four individuals from Superintendent Dan Linford, Linford apologized to the individuals and their three children "for the unwelcome experiences they had while attending school in our district. I am grateful to you for bringing your children's experiences to our attention. Our primary goal is to make sure that students enter and enjoy a safe, productive and welcoming learning environment. We have not met our goal when student experiences fall short of that standard," Linford wrote.

He said that district leaders are committed to making the district a safe and welcoming environment for all, and that any form of racism, bigotry, discrimination or harassment will not be tolerated by the district.

While he acknowledged that changes won't happen overnight, he highlighted the following examples of steps he said the district has taken to make improvements:

• Creation of the Office of Equal Opportunity.
• Appointment of an assistant superintendent position with responsibility for Equal Opportunity.
• Creation of the Harassment and Discrimination Policy (11IR-100).
• Creation of the Harassment and Discrimination Reporting System (HDRS).
• All employee training on mandatory reporting of harassment and discrimination.
• All administrator training on processes for reporting, investigation and resolution.

"Our work is not done, but with your help, we are building a legacy of positive change. It remains the top priority for our district to continue to improve experiences for all our students, staff and school communities," Linford said in the letter.

'A long way to go'

The joint statement from the district and the Tichenor family also highlighted the fact that there is still a lot of work to be done to foster an environment that is nondiscriminatory and welcoming for all.

"While Davis School District and its staff have made profound and meaningful progress, there is still work to be done. The district is continually assessing and expanding its processes and efforts to better support every student who attends its schools, including implementing trauma-informed counseling and other resources for its students," the statement says. "The district continues to provide necessary training to ensure compliance with all applicable guidelines and recommendations and is dedicated to creating environments to encourage open dialogue and discussions that promote mutual learning, respect and empathy, free from any undue pressure on individual students. The district is wholly committed to continuing to implement changes to positively impact students, staff and the community."

The only comment from lawmakers about the Tichenor settlement came from House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City.

"I appreciate the fact that we got to a settlement. I think some of us will have to disagree about the findings because we, many of us that are representatives from communities of color, hear from families of people who are in your school district," she said.

"They still feel like there's a problem. So I want you to know that I don't agree with you on your assessment on that," Romero said, reiterating she was glad a settlement had been reached.

"But we as a state and as a school district have to do better for our students, regardless of who they are or their families or their racial identity," she said. "We've got a long way to go still."

Related topics