Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parent of student with complex needs raises bus safety and supervision concerns at board meeting
Summary
A parent asked the board to keep her 15-year-old son from riding with a particular student after several incidents on the bus; the superintendent said she would follow up and review the matter privately because personnel and contractor details cannot be discussed in public.
Ashley Love, a parent of a 15-year-old student with Joubert Syndrome, addressed the Derry Area School District board during visitor comments to raise safety and supervision concerns about her son's bus assignment.
Love said several incidents involved another student and that those incidents left her son frightened. She told the board the guardian of the other student had told the bus aide she had permission to "talk to Gabe" and that the student had told Gabe someone would kidnap him. "My son matters as much as every other student in Derry here, and I would do anything to protect him," Love said.
Love said she had raised the incidents with Dr. Perry, who she said had told her the student would not ride the bus for the remainder of the school year. But Love said she later learned the student was back on the bus. She told the board she did not want her son riding with that student for safety and emotional reasons.
Dr. Perry responded at the meeting, saying she had received Love's voicemail and had been engaged with committee meetings that afternoon. Perry said she would meet with Love and review the situation outside the public meeting. "I am more than willing to sit down and have a discussion with you here even after the meeting or a phone call tomorrow," Perry said, noting that she could not discuss some personnel or contractor specifics in public.
What was said and what follows: Love asked that her son not be placed on a bus with the other student. The district representative acknowledged the complaint, said an investigation and follow-up meeting would occur, and said an aide and driver would be on the ESY (extended school year) bus. The transcript shows a promise to follow up in private; the board did not take public disciplinary action during the meeting.
Context: Love described her son as non-ambulatory, a limited speaker who uses an iPad for communication, and needing an aide for safety and daily care. She requested district action to prevent further emotional harm and potential physical harm to her son while riding district-contracted transportation.
Next steps: Administration indicated it would speak further with Love after the meeting or via phone and review available options; the district noted contractor staffing and personnel matters may limit what can be said in public minutes.
