Parents of teen bullied at school file wrongful death lawsuit against Chandler Unified

CHANDLER, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — The mother and a father of an East Valley teen who took his own life after he was bullied at school for months, are voicing their concerns about the actions of administrators at Hamilton High School.

Jordan and Kassidy Harstad claim they repeatedly asked school officials for help, but very little was done to protect their son, Andrew Harstad.

They’ve now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Chandler Unified School District.

The couple talked to Arizona’s Family about the heartbreak their family has been through, and how their son was harassed, threatened, and constantly bullied during his freshman year at Hamilton High School in Chandler.

“He went from the happiest kid I ever met, so much ambition,” said Jordan Harstad. “He told me he’s going to play in the NFL, then slowly he was less motivated. I don’t want to go to school today, no longer interested in football.”

According to the Harstads, what’s made the tragedy even worse is that it might have been prevented.

They say they contacted school officials more than a dozen times to report that Andrew was being bullied at school.

They even filed police reports and got an injunction to keep a student away from their son.

“We made every effort humanely possible to make them aware that there were struggles, that there were issues, things going on,” said Kassidy Harstad. “We went through every hoop you could jump through, every step you could take that you as a parent have. I just feel we needed more help and support on the other end.”

In May of 2022, at the end of his freshman year, Andrew died by suicide.

“It is such an incredible pain that you cannot even describe,” said Jordan Harstad. “It is every minute of every day that we spend thinking about our son Andrew.”

Andrew’s parents have now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Chandler Unified School District.

The lawsuit states that “By failing to take steps to stop Andrew Harstad’s bullies, CUSD breached their duties” and “was negligent.”

The lawsuit goes on to say that “Specific incidents of bullying were reported to police throughout the year” and ”those reports were provided to Hamilton High School.”

However, the district did not take action to “protect Andrew Harstad from further bullying.”

“By no means are we saying they are 100% to blame for Andrew passing by suicide, but with their policies, with their stance on anti-bullying, we believe they share in the responsibility, and their action and in-action contributed,” said attorney Jeff Grayson.

Arizona’s Family reached out to Chandler Unified and was told they cannot comment on pending litigation, but the district takes bullying very seriously and has strict policies in place.

“Bullying and harassment awareness training occurs in athletics and all CUSD staff are required to undergo annual bullying prevention training,” a district spokesperson said.

The Harstads are hoping that filing this lawsuit will create more awareness about bullying and teen suicide and convince Chandler Unified and other school districts that more needs to be done to address the problem.

“Absolutely we want more awareness brought,” said Kassidy Harstad. “We want to expose the stigma of suicide and replace it with support, support for students struggling, support for families going through this.”

“I never could have imagined this could happen to our son,” said Jordan Harstad.

Chandler Unified has filed a motion for a summary judgment in the case, saying it lacks merit and should be dismissed.

A judge is expected to make a ruling on whether the case can move forward in the next several weeks.

If you know someone who is struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, they can call 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day.

As a part of CUSD’s Mental Health initiative, the district opened the HOPE Institute of CUSD which is a suicide ideation prevention treatment center. CUSD is the only school district in the country to have such a partnership.

For more details visit https://www.cusd80.com/Page/124265

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