Sexual Abuse on School Buses & Vans Expert Article

Sexual violence and abuse occur in all types of educational settings. The confined physical environment and the supervision needs on school buses and school vans can make them a common location for abuse. These incidents may involve abuse between students, or students and bus monitor/driver.

This article will focus on the school bus and school van transportation environment and the steps forensic experts undertake to investigate incidents involving the sexual abuse of students during school transportation.

Expert Investigations of School Transportation Sexual Misconduct

School transportation departments utilize buses and vans to transport students of all ages from pre-school children to young adults in higher education settings.

The repetitive nature of school transportation can include drivers transporting the same students and student aides/monitors, on the same route for an entire school year or even for multiple years. School transportation personnel can also find themselves transporting a single student at any given time during their transportation routes.

These conditions can create an environment and circumstances where a predator, especially without adequate organizational oversight, has the opportunity to commit abuse.

Some factors that can affect safety on school buses and vans include:

• Student to Adult Ratios: Compared with other educational settings, buses and vans are more likely to have situations where one adult is responsible for more students than recommended, or scenarios where adults are alone with individual students.
• Blind Spots: Some school buses are designed with solid, high-back seats, this seating design, along with the length of a school bus, creates blind spots that can prevent abuse from being noticed and reported.
• Lower Ridership: In some parts of the country, a smaller proportion of students rely on school buses than in earlier generations. This can create longer than typical trips with isolated students.
• Vulnerable Populations: It is recognized that very young children and students with special needs are especially vulnerable to sexual violence and abuse. They often lack the ability to determine what is right and wrong, have limited ability to communicate and report sexual abuse incidents, or the wherewithal to defend themselves.
• Access & Familiarity: Drivers, aides, and other students potentially have influence and proximity to potential victims. Daily contact in these conditions can be conducive to sexual grooming.    

Foundational Principles of Organizational Safety

It is critically important that school districts and transportation contractors create an organizational system to protect students. Organizational safety begins with established policies and procedures that cover topics such as proper employee hiring and vetting, ongoing driver training and certification, employee evaluations and observations, and mandated child abuse reporting.

Policies and procedures are designed to mitigate potential hazards and reduce risks associated with school transportation. A forensic investigation will typically involve an analysis of all available information related to the presence of such proper policies and procedures, and their implementation.

Investigatory Components

During investigations related to sexual abuse during school transportation, our experts will thoroughly examine the particulars of the incident to determine if policies and actions met applicable standards of care.

Items for discovery often include:

• Policies and Procedures
• Driver/Bus/Attendant Personnel Records
• Training Curriculum
• Staff supervision and proficiency evaluations/observation documents
• Staff and student discipline policies and procedures
• Type of student transportation vehicle and any specialized equipment
• Telematics data policies and procedures (use of cameras and GPS data)
• School Bus/Van video footage
• System(s) in place for prevention, intervention, reporting, and responding to abuse

School Transportation Expert Witness Investigations

Among the supervision experts at Robson Forensic are former school bus drivers, Directors of School Transportation in both public and private sectors, Certified School Bus Driver Trainers, CDL Examiners, Certified Special Needs Transportation Professionals, and school administrators. Robson Forensic has the experts and capacity to address all avenues of investigation and litigation involving student safety.

For more information, submit an inquiry or call us at 800.813.6736

Featured Expert

Benjamin L. Bernhart, CSNT

School Bus & Student Transportation Expert

Benjamin Bernhart is an expert in student transportation with experience as a school bus driver and driver trainer, bus depot supervisor, and school district Director of Transportation. He applies his… read more.