The parents of a 10-year-old girl filed a lawsuit against their daughter’s district after the child was sexually assaulted on the school bus, reported Kansas City Star.

The federal lawsuit was filed against Taylorville Community Unit School District #3 and Durham School Services on June 17.

Local news reporters reached out to the district for comments but did not immediately hear back from the district. A spokesperson from school bus contractor Durham School Services said the company cannot comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit reportedly stems from an alleged sexual assault that took place during the 2023-2024 school year between students at Taylorville Junior High School.

According to the news report, in late January 2024, a 10-year-old girl with ADHD and autism was experiencing severe and pervasive bullying by a boy on board the bus and at a bus stop.

During a one-week period, the boy sat next to the girl on the school bus and repeatedly sexually assaulted her on their way home from school, the lawsuit said. The girl was corned as she was assaulted.

The complaint claims the boy told the girl that he would hurt her and her family if she told anyone about the incident. The boy also allegedly sexually assaulted her multiple times off the bus near a community center. The girl reportedly told a librarian at the center what happened, and her teacher was notified.

According to the lawsuit, the girl’s parents filed a police report, demanded protection from school officials and “insisted” the district to keep the boy away from their daughter. The district responded by placing the boy on a different school bus with younger children.

The complaint says the district took no measures whatsoever to prevent the boy from having access to the girl at or near the school bus stop.

After the alleged assault, the girl’s parents were told several times by community members that the boy had a prior history of engaging in acts of sexual improprieties on other younger children, according to the lawsuit via the article.

The lawsuit reportedly accuses the district of failing to notify all teachers of the safety plan, failing to get 30 days of bus footage after the assaults, failing to provide adequate safety protocols at and around the bus stops and on the bus, and failing to follow the order of protection issues on Feb. 2, 2024, which prohibited the boy from accessing the girl’s school.

The lawsuit is asking for an undetermined amount in damages.

Related: Philadelphia Students Sexually Assaulted on School Bus
Related: Indiana 15-year-old Accused of Sexual Assault on Ohio School Bus
Related: South Carolina Parent Runs School Bus Off Road After Alleged Child Assault
Related: Psychologist Shares How to Navigate Problematic Sexual Behaviors on School Bus

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An irate South Carolina father is being accused of running a school bus with 19 student passengers off the road after authorities say his child was allegedly assaulted by a school bus monitor.

The Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on May 23 confirming that two individuals had been charged in connection with a physical altercation involving a student on a school bus the day before.

According to the statement, allegations were brought forward from statements obtained by the Marlboro County School District officials from students on the bus, indicating that bus monitor Sharona Ford Cooper had physically assaulted a student after the student refused to remain seated in assigned seating.

Authorities added that Cooper was \charged with third-degree assault after utilizing her arm to restrain the student from moving down the school bus aisle, as depicted in the video from the school bus monitoring system obtained by law enforcement.

Police stated that shortly after the incident, Anthony Chavis, the father of the student, arrived at the school and became verbally abusive toward administrators and law enforcement staff, using profanity, racial slurs and physical intimidation.

Chavis’ children had been removed from the school bus and left on the school grounds. Once the school bus departed and continued its route to transport 19 other students home, Chavis followed the school bus in his vehicle with his five children as passengers and then forced the bus off the road. He exited his vehicle and struck the bus numerous times with his fist in an unsuccessful effort to gain entry, causing damage to the door.

According to authorities, as the school bus driver continued the route,circumventing Chavis’s car, the father threw an object at the back of the bus and damaged the window. The incident was captured on the school bus video.

Chief Deputy Larry Turner said Chavis was charged with interfering with operations of a school bus, child endangerment, threatening the life of a public official, aggravated breach of peace, malicious injury to government property, and disruption of a school. He was taken into custody and was denied bond, as he was already out on bond for an assault charge at the time of this arrest.

The investigation is ongoing.

Related: Colorado School District Pays $16.2M for Abuse of Student by Bus Attendant
Related: Maryland School Bus Aid Charged with Sexual Assault
Related: North Carolina Student Target of Racial Slurs on School Bus
Related: Arizona School Bus Driver Assaulted, Student’s Mother Charged
Related: Ohio Man Smashes School Bus Window

The post South Carolina Parent Runs School Bus Off Road After Alleged Child Assault appeared first on School Transportation News.

Two years ago, 5-year-old A.M., a child with autism, became the victim of bullying on the school bus he rode to elementary school in the Poudre School District of Fort Collins, Colorado. The perpetrator of A.M.’s abuse was not a fellow student, but a school bus attendant the district had hired to provide students like him with extra support.

Not only was A.M., whose full name is withheld in court documents, restrained in a school bus seat throughout the months-long abuse, his disability rendered him nonverbal, leaving him unable to ask for help or tell his parents what was happening.

The school board agreed to pay out $16.2 million on May 14 to settle a lawsuit filed by parents of A.M. and other students with disabilities who were abused by Tyler Zanella while being transported to and from school during the 2022-2023 school year.

Comparatively, the settlement is about 15 percent of the district’s $10.3 million transportation services budget for this past school year.

After voting to accept the settlement, Poudre school board president Kristen Draper said she hoped the amount would help foster healing and rebuild trust.

“This resolution represents our collective commitment to addressing the harm caused and to supporting the ongoing recovery and well-being of these students and their families,” Draper said.

A.M. was not Zanella’s only victim. In all, county prosecutors say the attendant abused 10 students that school year.

The district uncovered Zanella’s criminal history and a previous child abuse conviction during a background check before he was hired in August 2022. A.M.’s parents also voiced concern about the attendant throughout the school year, but their words did not prompt change until a teacher stepped in.

When A.M. came to class with red marks on his face, a teacher asked questions, prompting the school district to review camera footage and report the abuse to police.

Related: Colorado School Bus Aid Arrested, Charged with Abusing Student

Internal bus camera footage documented Zanella swearing at A.M., calling him names, and subjecting him to physical abuse, slapping, pinching, and pushing the restrained child dozens of times over several months. According to court documents, Zanella called A.M. a f—–,” “little sh–,” and said, “if A.M. were his kid, he would be dead by now because Mr. Zanella did not have that kind of patience.”

Zanella, 36, ultimately pleaded guilty to seven counts of assault on an at-risk person, as well as harassment, and child abuse. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in April 2024.

He also had a previous misdemeanor child abuse conviction when he applied for the  position at Poudre School District. Title 22 of the Colorado Revised Statutes lists felony child abuse as cause for termination or withholding employment.

David Lane, A.M.’s attorney, said in an email he was shocked that Zanella had been hired after school officials learned of his criminal history and that he had lied about it.

“It is utterly incomprehensible how a school district could allow a convicted child abuser to have access to utterly helpless children in this situation,” Lane wrote. “Ultimately, this governmental failure will cost the taxpayers millions of dollars and these innocent children have been severely damaged.”

Following the incident, the district spent $2 million on internal policies, which included hiring consultants at the Center for Effective School Operations, or CESO, to review the district’s policies. Among primary recommendations, CESO suggested the district develop procedures for camera footage requests and supervisor audits.

In a school board presentation on the transportation review findings last summer, Chief Operations Officer Jeff Connell reflected on how school bus driver shortages led to mechanics and supervisors driving buses, and many employees taking shortcuts.

Connell said the district was hiring an integration services transportation manager dedicated to coordinating support for students with disabilities as well as a second operations manager. Per the CESO recommendation, Connell said both managers would oversee north and south terminals to maintain a consistent culture across both locations. Connell said he hoped to cover the budget for the positions by increasing route efficiencies.

The school district previously maintained three days of video footage from each camera. Supervisors are now required to review at least one hour of footage each week, “with an emphasis on routes that have new staff and routes that serve students with special needs – particularly students who are pre- or non-verbal.”

Related: Florida School Bus Attendant Arrested for Inappropriate Behavior with Young Girls
Related: Seminar Provides Elements of Comprehensive Training for School Bus Attendants
Related: South Carolina Case Highlights Need for Attendants on School Buses

Moving forward, the district promised to update cameras on all school buses—a $1.9 million cost paid for with bonds. The district hired transportation service provider Zum to install four internal cameras on each school bus, including a driver-facing camera with a built-in coaching system.

“There’s a lot of hours of video to go through between ride-alongs, reviewing the video, following up on incidences and also having the driver-coaching camera, we’re going to have a lot of information available to us that we’ve never had before,” Connell said.

Draper described the incident as a painful chapter in the school district’s history but added that she hoped it would prove to be a “catalyst for important and necessary improvements.”

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School buses remain the safest way for students to get to school, but student transportation professionals must be prepared for the worst-case scenario when a school bus related accident occurs.

At STN EXPO West, safety will be the focus of many of the educational sessions and trainings. The conference kicks off Friday, July 12 with an in-depth “School Bus Accident Investigation: Be Prepared for a Lawsuit” presentation by industry veterans Richard “Dick” Fischer and Pete Baxter. The four-hour session will dive into the intricacies of accident investigation that often branch off beyond the incident itself to a broader view of transportation operations, including safety onboard the bus, at bus stops and in the school bus garage.

Fischer, a renowned national school bus safety expert and trainer, and Baxter, an NAPT Hall of Famer and retired director of pupil transportation for the Indiana Department of Education, will also discuss the legal process that follows a school bus accident and review real-life examples to demonstrate the importance of preparing transportation teams to handle the legal proceedings. Both Fischer and Baxter have served as expert witnesses in court for legal cases involving school bus collisions and look to shed light on the process, starting with the first phone call about an accident to appearing in court. Even though every transportation department or company hopes it will never happen to them, this session will reveal the need to prepare for different types of incidents.

Save $100 on regular conference registration with Early Bird registration by June 6. STN EXPO West will be held July 11-16 in Reno, Nevada at the Peppermill Resort. Find registration and hotel details and stay tuned for updates on the conference agenda, exhibitor lists & unique experiences at stnexpo.com/west.

Related: Dick Fischer School Bus Safety Scholarship Offered for STN EXPO West
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Related: (STN Podcast E218) Onsite at STN EXPO Reno 2024: Coming Together for Safety, Technology & Clean Energy

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