School Asks Grieving Dad Why Dead Son Isn't in Class

Sept. 27, 2013— -- The father of a New York City teen who died on a school field trip said he's had to deal with more heartache after he received phone calls recently informing him his son was skipping class.

But Jean Fritz Pierre, 16, drowned in June while on a field trip to Bear Mountain State Park with his classmates from Prospect Heights International High School.

His grieving father, Jonas Pierre, 39, said the phone calls about his son's attendance have left him even more devastated by his loss.

"I think, why are you calling, why are you telling me this," Pierre told the New York Daily News. "Don't you know my son is dead?"

In a statement to ABCNews.com, New York City Department of Education spokeswoman Marge Feinberg said officials would make sure Pierre no longer received the phone calls.

"We apologize for any pain or suffering this may have caused the family and are checking all data systems to ensure that the family doesn't receive these calls anymore," Feinberg said.

A probe of Jean Fritz's death cleared school officials of any wrongdoing. However, his father filed a notice of claim earlier this month for a $5 million lawsuit against the Department of Education and the City of New York.