Teen bullied into suicide over false allegations about his vaccination status by students, school officials

In January, 15-year-old Nate Bronstein took his own life after months of bullying both online and at the prestigious Chicago private school he attended.

His parents have since filed a lawsuit against the school, alleging that administrators could have done more to prevent the tragedy.

In the lawsuit filed Monday, the Bronsteins allege that upon transferring to Latin School of Chicago in 2021, Nate was "subjected to persistent and increasingly cruel forms of bullying, cyberbullying, hate speech and other harassment that caused him severe anxiety and depression."

They allege that Nate's suicide "followed the willful failure by teachers and officials at Latin to take any action to remedy the horrific treatment that [Nate] had endured prior to his death despite being aware and /or having every reason to be aware of what he was enduring."

Much of the bullying was spurred on by rumors that Nate was unvaccinated, when he had, in fact, gotten the shot.

The Bronsteins knew that their son was being bullied, but did not find out the true extent of the attacks until it was too late. In the lawsuit it is stated that Mrs. Bronstein contacted the school over thirty times in October and November 2021 alone, but was met by an administration that dismissed her complaints.

Nate at one point asked for a meeting with the dean of students to discuss a string of harmful online attacks, one of which urged him to kill himself, however his parents were not informed.

"Our son would still be alive today if Latin would have done their job and reported to us what had gone on within the school," Mrs. Bronstein told CBS News.

Latin School of Chicago is no stranger to allegations of bullying on its campus. There was, until Monday night, even an Instagram account called @SurvivorsOfLatin that includes hundreds of posts from current and former students "highlighting the bullying, cyberbullying, hate speech and other harassment they endured at Latin and the school’s deliberate indifference to it," according to the lawsuit.

Illinois state law requires that every school have an anti-bullying policy, which includes actions administrations must take when bullying occurs, such as notifying the parents of both parties involved.

The school sent out a statement claiming that they had "put students' interests first," and that the administration "will vigorously defend itself, its faculty and its staff," against what they deemed to be "unfounded claims."

The Bronsteins told CBS News that, if their lawsuit is successful, they will donate any money made as a result to anti-bullying and anti-suicide charities.