Parent Complaints Over School Bus Incident In Stamford Leads To BOE Review

STAMFORD, CT — The Stamford Board of Education is examining ways to increase communication with parents following complaints about an incident involving a school bus from Scofield Magnet Middle School and police last month.

On April 21 around 3:15 p.m., according to Stamford Public Schools Finance Director Ryan Fealey, a group of students on Scofield Magnet bus No. 138 were "acting in a manner inconsistent with the district's expectations and policy with regards to behavior."

The bus driver repeatedly tried to quell the behavior, Fealey told the Stamford Board of Education in a workshop meeting on May 1, but he was unsuccessful.

"When the bus driver determined that the safe operation of the bus was not possible under those circumstances, he pulled over and called [bus company] First Student dispatch for direction," Fealey said.

After several attempts to calm the student behavior and continued discussion with dispatch, First Student directed the driver to park in a safe location and await the arrival of police.

Fealey noted that during that time, several students called their parents who went to the bus location on Newfield Avenue.

When police arrived, some students were released to their parents. Remaining students were transferred to a second bus which arrived shortly thereafter, and that bus delivered the students to their homes.

Since the incident, the transportation department has had several discussions with First Student, who said they will provide additional training to the driver of bus 138, and address student behavior with all of their drivers at a safety training meeting.

The Stamford Advocate reported that the call to police was placed at 3:41 p.m., about 25 minutes after the bus pulled over. Students were not allowed to leave the bus, and parents received little information from the school or the district about the incident or that police were called.

The Advocate also said that according to First Student, the bus driver followed proper protocol.

During the Stamford Board of Education meeting on April 25, several parents spoke out about the lack of communication from the district, and ongoing issues aboard bus 138.

Heather Donohue, a parent of one of the students on the bus, said another incident occurred in February in which the driver left the children on the side of the road far from their stops.

"It's definitely frustrating, sad and concerning," she said. "In no way should a child be left on the side of the road and dropped off at a place other than their bus stop, or they should be brought back to the school at the very least."

During the May 1 board of education workshop meeting, Assistant Corporation Counsel Amy LiVolsi said the district was aware of the February incident, and that it was handled by the school and administration looked into it.

Board member Fritz Cherry asked Fealey if there is a policy for notifications to go out to parents in the event a bus is stopped and police are notified.

Fealey said there's a policy in place to notify parents of a delayed bus, and Associate Superintendent for School Development Lori Rhodes explained communication would also go out to students who are "perpetrators" in the disruptive behavior.

Fealey said the students involved and their parents or guardians were notified of any disciplinary action, which would vary depending on a student's involvement.

Board member Versha Munshi-South said parents should be made aware of these situations when they happen.

"The presence of police can be very traumatic for many people. I think we should, even if that's not our process right now, I think we should tell parents that your kid went to a different location than they were supposed to, and the police were called. That might've been very scary for students," she said.

The district also has to address the behavior aspect of the students on the bus, Munshi-South added.

"There is a set of students who have had repeated behavior issues on this bus. I know suspending kids from a bus in not ideal… but it feels like there might need to be an out-of-the-box solution for these individual students who are causing a really dangerous situation."

Board President Jackie Heftman said there should be more communication, especially if police get involved, "so when a child comes home and says to their parent, 'There was a policeman on my bus today,' it's not going to be, 'Oh, my god, what happened,' and, 'Are you ok?'"

But Heftman said the incident needed to be put in perspective.

"We have thousands of bus routes, and rarely does something like this happen. When it does, we have to make sure that parents are aware. I think at the minimum, a parent should've gotten an email or a text or something that evening or soon after," she noted, adding that the principal is responsible for the students until they get off the bus.

"We recognize this was an upsetting situation for the students caught in the bus who were not involved particularly, and their families, and we are working to ensure that under our power, similar situations do not occur in the future," Fealey said.

Board member Jackie Pioli asked SPS Superintendent Dr. Tamu Lucero to coordinate with district Security Director Joe Kennedy to establish a contact process on how to notify parents if similar situations arise in the future.

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