Mother Calls For School Bus Driver's Firing After Attack Caught On Camera

[Satanica]

A mother is demanding a Dallas ISD school bus driver be fired, claiming he heard her 5-year-old daughter’s cries for help on board his bus and did nothing.

Audrey Billings said video released to her after she paid a $600 fee shows her daughter being attacked by three older, bigger students.
[....]
It started when her daughter came home crying on Nov. 11, and said she’d been hit by a boy on the bus.

“I thought it was going to be a kid thing: a couple slaps,” she said. “In my wildest dreams I never could’ve imagined, my brain could not comprehend what I was going to see.”

It took weeks for the video to be released, partly because of the holidays and partly because parts of it had to be redacted to protect other children’s privacy.

The video, released to Billings last weekend, is 13 minutes long.

It shows children from different charter schools riding home together in a small blue bus used for the district’s choice and specialty school routes.

Billings’ daughter is seen seated a few rows behind the bus driver when she is hit by an older, bigger girl.

Her first cry for help happens about two minutes into the video.

“Bus driver,” Alexis can be heard yelling.

The driver appears to say, "leave her alone, kid," but continued to drive.

Billings said she sought and received help from her daughter’s principal and was told it was protocol for the bus driver to stop when possible to investigate a situation like this.

That never happened in this incident, according to the video.

Instead, the incident continues, and two older boys unbuckle their seat belts and join in.

One boy appears to use a pencil to poke Alexis, presses his elbow up to her neck and puts her in a chokehold.

Alexis can be seen hitting back, trying to defend herself, but can’t.

She is visibly petite; small even for her age, according to her mother.

“She [Alexis] did make the comment, 'I thought he was going to kill me,'” Billings said.

The attack only ended at the girl’s stop.

“I don’t know what made me more angry: seeing my daughter attacked or seeing an adult ignore her cries for help,” Billings said.
[....]
Something else that has concerned Billings is that she had to pay $600 to see the blurred video of the incident.

“How many parents couldn’t afford that?” she asked. “A lot of parents, especially in Dallas ISD would not be able to afford that and I don’t think that it’s right.”

While her daughter has no lasting physical marks, Billings said she couldn't help but feel regret.
[....]
Billings admitted she was preparing legal action against the school district.

She also filed a police report, is seeking charges against the children and wants the driver fired.

Billings also said she wanted to see changes on school buses to keep older charter school students separated from the youngest children.

Mother Calls for School Bus Driver to Be Fired After Attack Caught on Camera

A mother is demanding a Dallas ISD school bus driver be fired, claiming he heard her 5-year-old daughter’s cries for help on board his bus and did nothing. Audrey Billings said video released to her after she paid a $600 fee shows her daughter being attacked by three older, bigger students...

www.nbcdfw.com

 

[MildlyMedicated]

Poor baby, the bus driver should be disciplined. This child is going to be in fear for a long time.

 

[Satanica]

Par for the course down here. Same goes for in-school violence. Our foster kid has been involved in two instances of physical contact in the classroom and both times the teacher had his back turned and said he didn't see or hear anything. The last time a girl literally shoved a desk into him and when he shoved it back, it hit the little cunt on her foot and that's all anyone cared about even though she then literally threw it at him cutting his left eyebrow causing bleeding and bruising. It's to the point that we're going to have to start home school with him just like my grands.

We did find out that his "mother" had told the school to start him two grades behind his age level, and the school just ran with it. He's been bullied by younger students ever since and, to his credit, he doesn't retaliate. I feel the school should've tested him and not just taken the bitch's word for it.

 

[George Spelvin]

Par for the course down here. Same goes for in-school violence. Our foster kid has been involved in two instances of physical contact in the classroom and both times the teacher had his back turned and said he didn't see or hear anything. The last time a girl literally shoved a desk into him and when he shoved it back, it hit the little cunt on her foot and that's all anyone cared about even though she then literally threw it at him cutting his left eyebrow causing bleeding and bruising. It's to the point that we're going to have to start home school with him just like my grands.

We did find out that his "mother" had told the school to start him two grades behind his age level, and the school just ran with it. He's been bullied by younger students ever since and, to his credit, he doesn't retaliate. I feel the school should've tested him and not just taken the bitch's word for it.

Go for the homeschooling anyway!

 

[JackBurton]

Good luck filing charges against the kid when the school went to such lengths to shield their indentities.

This wasnt making sense to me until i read the part about it being a charter school. Private schools play by their own rules.

Im not sure why she isnt suing the charter schools. These places have pretty deep pockets. They either hired their own driver or contracted out, either way they should assume responsbility for it.

The 600 dollar thing is prett yfucking outrageous. Would love to see how the school/bussing system justifies that pricetag. Seems to me it is clearly only meant to serve as a road block. The callousness involved making a parent pay essentially a ransom just to get to the bottom of their young childs very violent attack at the hands of older classmates should help her if a civil suit goes before a jury though. This school/bussing sservice is going to look awful.

Public school backers should be helping this woman out anyway they can. Be a great way to score one over on the whole charter school system.

 

[Stebot]

Do the police have to pay $600 to see the video of the little girl attacked by blurs ?

 

[Ramona the brave]

Par for the course down here. Same goes for in-school violence. Our foster kid has been involved in two instances of physical contact in the classroom and both times the teacher had his back turned and said he didn't see or hear anything. The last time a girl literally shoved a desk into him and when he shoved it back, it hit the little cunt on her foot and that's all anyone cared about even though she then literally threw it at him cutting his left eyebrow causing bleeding and bruising. It's to the point that we're going to have to start home school with him just like my grands.

We did find out that his "mother" had told the school to start him two grades behind his age level, and the school just ran with it. He's been bullied by younger students ever since and, to his credit, he doesn't retaliate. I feel the school should've tested him and not just taken the bitch's word for it.

Dang, what state do you live in that they can do that!? You really can't hold a kid back like that in WI. They just get special ed then.
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Good luck filing charges against the kid when the school went to such lengths to shield their indentities.

This wasnt making sense to me until i read the part about it being a charter school. Private schools play by their own rules.

Im not sure why she isnt suing the charter schools. These places have pretty deep pockets. They either hired their own driver or contracted out, either way they should assume responsbility for it.

The 600 dollar thing is prett yfucking outrageous. Would love to see how the school/bussing system justifies that pricetag. Seems to me it is clearly only meant to serve as a road block. The callousness involved making a parent pay essentially a ransom just to get to the bottom of their young childs very violent attack at the hands of older classmates should help her if a civil suit goes before a jury though. This school/bussing sservice is going to look awful.

Public school backers should be helping this woman out anyway they can. Be a great way to score one over on the whole charter school system.

I work for a charter school. We don't have any deep pockets. We only get 53% per kid of what the public schools get, and we're still bound to the same rules and expectations as public schools. They're not all bad... My school is great, if underfunded.

There are definitely shitty charter schools out there that pocket that money and provide the kids with a marginal at best level of instruction. It seems like most districts are cracking down on that now, though. I'm 100% pro public school and I don't want to privatize the school system or any of that bullshit, but sometimes charter schools for arts, science, or specialty styles of instruction are good to have around.

Anyway, my original point of this post was going to be that kids on the school bus are NUTS. BONKERS, I TELL YOU. They do not listen and they do not respect the bus driver, ever. One person responsible for 50 kids after a long day of school!? And you can't even actually see all the kids behind the bus seats!? There should be an aide on every bus imo. But that costs money, and people don't want their taxes increased 2 cents a year for that kind of thing, so.

 

[Satanica]

Yeah, foster kid's last day at the charter school is Monday. Why it's not Friday, I don't know. Can't wait to see how it goes. Preparations are being made for curriculum, laptop, etc. He should make good progress without the distractions and b/s at the school, although guiding himself through the materials and being in control of his learning will be an adjustment. He will no longer accept being limited by what the school decides he needs to know. We found out just a week ago that he does not know cursive. My oldest grand is learning to read cursive and asked about a word, and he immediately said he didn't know cursive because the school stopped teaching it last year. Didn't even try to see if he could figure it out. We hope to empower him.

[....]
Dallas ISD said the driver was removed from that bus route.

Billings said she wants the driver taken off the streets, period.

DISD said it has taken steps to ensure the safety of students and provide additional monitoring.

The school district released the following statement on the matter:

“Dallas ISD has taken steps to improve our Transportation Services to further ensure the safety of students. The district has provided additional training and monitoring. We are dedicated to ensuring a safe environment for all students and remain committed to meeting the expectations of our parents and community.”

Billings said her daughter no longer rides the school bus.

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[Sejanus]

Fire the driver for gross incompetence.
Identify and charge the assailants.
Sue the parents, bus company into extinction.

 

[cubby]

Kids don't learn cursive anymore nor do they teach penmanship either, my 13yo niece's handwriting is absolutely horrible, unreadable almost. How a teacher reads 20-30 papers like that, I don't know.

 

[Sevens My Charm]

The driver SHOULD have had a monitor period! To the driver's defense you're told not to stop unless totally necessary. Really also depends on traffic, locality, driving environment. The school district covered their ass and hung the driver out to dry. I am not saying that there doesn't need to be action taken but it sure the fuck shouldn't totally lay on the driver's shoulders. I am positive this wasn't the first time something happened with some or all of the kids.. what is the back story. I seated all little or at risk (no matter size or age) in the first two seats on both sides.

 

[Satanica]

The offending students should not have been allowed back on the bus. It's THEM that should have to make other arrangements; not the victim.

 

[Ramona the brave]

Kids don't learn cursive anymore nor do they teach penmanship either, my 13yo niece's handwriting is absolutely horrible, unreadable almost. How a teacher reads 20-30 papers like that, I don't know.

There just straight up is not time anymore. Standards (and the consequences for not meeting them) are higher than they were 20+ years ago when most of us went to school. Add in at least 5 asshole kids in each class wasting 50% of the school day because they can't behave and/or their parents don't parent them and/or don't believe in ADHD medicine.... oh and no prep time or support because there isn't enough school staff to actually meet kids' needs... Ain't nobody got time to teach cursive. LOL.