A Clark County School District bus driver has been pulled off her route after video surfaced showing her confronting students onboard, with one parent saying her daughter called in a panic during the ride home, fearing she would be left on the side of the road. The district confirmed the driver's removal following the incident, which unfolded on a route serving Las Vegas students.
According to FOX5 Vegas, parent Amanda Fravel said her seventh-grade daughter called her from the bus during the ride home after students had already been told they'd be dropped off. Instead, Fravel's daughter told her the driver threatened to pull over and leave students stranded. Fravel said she followed her daughter's location on her phone as the situation played out, and her daughter later sent her a video showing the bus pulled over on the side of the road.
In the video described to FOX5, the driver can be heard telling students, “Get over here and sit down, and you're going to sit down perfectly in the front. I am not kidding you! Get over here now!” The driver reportedly told Fravel the bus was too loud and that she did not feel comfortable driving it. Fravel said she asked the driver why her actions were appropriate, and said afterward that she was shaken up and stressed out by the ordeal.
Bus Turned Around Before Resuming Route
The driver turned the bus around and took the children back to the school rather than continuing on to their stops, per the same account. The bus later returned to its normal route and dropped the children off, though the exact sequence left parents rattled in the meantime.
Another parent, Tanya Shepard, said she was scared for the safety of her child and all the children on the bus and reached out to the district with her concerns. Shepard said the district did not reply to her outreach, even as the district told FOX5 it would respond to the matter within 24 to 48 hours.
District Cites Code of Conduct, Continues Investigation
Clark County School District confirmed the driver was removed from the bus route and said it is continuing to investigate the incident. The district pointed to its code of conduct, which states that bus drivers should encourage appropriate behavior on school buses and allows drivers to safely pull to the side of the road to address distracting behaviors when needed.
A replacement driver has operated the bus since Friday without incident, the district noted. A district representative said the lack of further incidents suggests the problem was with staff rather than students, according to the report.
Fravel said she wants to know what the district will do to keep students safe going forward, and other parents have echoed calls for the district to make sure the situation doesn't happen again. Confrontations between bus drivers and students captured on video have surfaced in other districts around the country over the years, including in San Antonio, where a driver was seen moving a student after cellphone footage showed children yelling at her. Clark County has not detailed what disciplinary steps, if any, will follow once its review concludes.
