The family and friends of a Vermont teen who died by suicide last year gathered with advocates at the Statehouse this week to push the Legislature to act on bullying and harassment in Vermont schools.
Isabelle Jean Dykema-Vezina did everything she was told to do in response to the relentless bullying she endured, her older sister, Mak Vezina, told a small crowd gathered in the Statehouse鈥檚 Cedar Creek room on Tuesday. But their sister was still consistently let down by the system, Vezina said.
鈥淪he followed your outdated rules, your unenforced protocols and policies. She checked the boxes you told her she had to,鈥� they said. 鈥淪he did the work and she believed in your broken system because she had to. Isabelle was not stupid, and she knew she had no other choice but to follow your legally outlined path to failure.鈥�
Dykema-Vezina was a student at the Mill School, a therapeutic school in Winooski, and just 14 when she died in September.
Despite being bullied herself, their sister fought for others her entire life, Vezina said. In third grade, she joined her school鈥檚 student council program to advocate for LGBTQ students, and she intervened when Vezina herself experienced bullying in high school. Later, she helped raise money for Ukraine, and helped Vezina organize a walkout against sexual assault.
鈥淏elieve me when I tell you she did the work. I guess I would just like to ask our representatives here today: Where were you?鈥� Vezina said.
Dykema-Vezina鈥檚 mother, Heather Miller, also spoke, and said that while her daughter鈥檚 story was tragic, it was not unique.
鈥淪he's one of many children here in our state that have lost their lives in this manner,鈥� she said, naming several children who have died in recent years.
Bullying and harassment remains a persistent 鈥� and worsening 鈥� problem in Vermont schools. The most recent edition of the state鈥檚 , which is conducted in partnership with the state and the federal government, saw about a fifth of all high school students report bullying in 2023, and about one in seven make a suicide plan. Both of these indicators were worse than they were ten years prior. Girls, LGBTQ students, students of color, and students with disabilities all reported higher levels of bullying and poor mental health than their peers.
Advocates, meanwhile, say the problem is only continuing to deteriorate.
鈥淲e are seeing a spike in cases of discrimination and harassment in students in Vermont, especially our students of color, our students with disabilities, and our students who are queer,鈥� Big Hartman, the executive director of Vermont鈥檚 Human Rights Commission, said Tuesday.
Speakers urged the passage of , which would expand the membership and duties of the state鈥檚 Advisory Council on Harassment, Hazing, and Bullying Prevention in Schools. But advocates like Hartman also said combating the problem would also require 鈥渁 statewide culture shift鈥� and 鈥渁 serious investment in energy and resources.鈥�
鈥淲hile legislators are so busy tackling the challenging issue of education funding, I hope that they will not lose sight of the focus that is needed on protecting our students in schools,鈥� Hartman said.
Dana Kaplan, the executive director of Outright Vermont, which advocates for LGBTQ youth, also argued that a national political climate that encouraged attacks on vulnerable people demanded state-level leadership.
"Our joint unequivocal commitment to protecting the rights of the most marginalized youth sends a powerful message. No matter what shenanigans are swirling around us at the federal level, Vermont must not and will not back down," he said.
A sweeping overhaul over Vermont's pre-K-12 system proposed by Gov. Phil Scott has dominated discussion at the Statehouse this year, and is likely to push aside most other education-related work. But even before property taxes rose to the very top of the agenda, Elizabeth Burrows, D-West Windsor, who spoke at the press conference, said lawmakers had shown little inclination to delve into anti-bullying measures.
"There are bills put forward 鈥� meaningful, strong bills, and a lot of weak ones 鈥� put forward every single year in in both bodies of this Legislature. And they don't move anywhere," she said.
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