Anne Arundel County Public Schools Remains Mum on Death of Central Special Student; 'No one has contacted us or communicated a single word,' the child's father says

The Anne Arundel County Public School System has continued to have "no comment" regarding the death of Bowen Levy, a special needs student who was attending Central Special School in Edgewater before he died on November 10, five days after he chocked on a vinyl glove during the school day.

In a letter addressed to Schools Superintendent George Arlotto, Bowen's father expressed great disdain for the absence of communication from the school district since his son's death.  "No one in the school system has explained how this happened or why was it allowed to happen," Mr. Levy wrote in the letter.  "No one has even contacted us or communicated a single word in these 4 agonizing weeks about what happened to our son."

It has been over a month since the passing of Bowen, and in those 32 days following his death, the school system has remained silent despite the very obvious sense of urgency for more information shown by the late child's family, the media and the community at large.  Bob Mosier, Chief Communications Officer for AACPS, has consistently responded with 'no comment,' when contacted regarding the child's untimely demise.  "I have said to you (Report Annapolis) repeatedly that we cannot comment on the Levy matter," Mosier said in an email recently.  "Nothing has changed my previous comment to you," he continued.

During an interview with Report Annapolis, Bowen's father confirmed that his son was airlifted to The Children's Hospital Center in Washington DC after being rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital.  "We have been told that Bowen may have been without oxygen for at least 10 minutes,"  Mr. Levy added.

A source close to the matter revealed an unlikely witness to this tragedy. According to the source, a high school student volunteer was present in the room on November 5 when Bowen ingested a vinyl glove which eventually became lodged in his airway. "By the time anyone realized Bowen had swallowed that glove, it was too late...he was already choking," the source said.

It is unclear about how many special needs students in addition to Bowen were present, if the student-volunteer had been left alone with the special needs students during the choking incident, or if a teacher was also present at the time.

Report Annapolis reached out to AACPS, however our request for comment was not answered. We were seeking a comment on the current well-being of the student volunteer, including what if any counseling resources have been made available to the student in the days following the incident.

Report Annapolis also submitted a Public Information Act Request, seeking various documents that may have helped explain what happen to Bowen, which was mostly denied, citing an ongoing investigation.

It remains unclear who is conducting the investigation, as both the State's Attorney's Office and the Anne Arundel County Police have said through their individual spokespeople that neither of their agencies are involved. A request for specifics pertaining to the investigative body was also denied.

A response to the remainder of our request is pending further research by the school system.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore ruled Bowen's death was caused by "choking, aspiration of a vinyl glove"  and the manner of death was ruled "an accident."

In the letter to Superintendent Arlotto, Bowen's father plead with the school system to provide an explanation.  "Please do not hide behind education or medical privacy laws.  As Bowen's parents, my wife and I authorize you to make this information public," Levy wrote.  "We have a right to know.  The other parents in this county who are also entrusting you to keep their children safe have a right to know."

This story is still developing. More details will be made available to our readers as we receive them.

To read the previously published story, click the link below:

Death of Central Special Student Ruled Accidental, Reportedly Choked on a Vinyl Glove