WASHINGTON — All Fairfax County schools special education bus workers will be required to go through additional training after a third staff member was arrested on charges related to assaulting a child with autism on a school bus.
“When parents put their children on a school bus, it is with the understanding that they will arrive at their destination safely and on time. Regrettably, the charges filed in these separate cases fall short of those expectations and are breaches of the valued trust of our parents,” a statement from the school system said.
According to county police, the 12-year-old boy’s mother became concerned after her son came home from school with bruises. She filed a report, triggering an investigation. Surveillance footage from the bus showed two “encounters” between a bus aide and the boy — one on Oct. 10 and the other on Oct. 19. Both incidents took place just before 8 a.m.
Police described the boy as nonverbal.
Bus aide Hyung Lee, 57, of Fairfax, is charged with assault and battery. He turned himself into police on Tuesday.
Two other Fairfax County school employees were charged last week with assault and battery for assaulting an 11-year-old boy on a school bus in October.
Police said the cases are not related and involved two different children.
Lee has been suspended without pay, according to school spokesman John Torres.
Bus teams will go through training on proper restraint and behavior interventions that emphasizes prevention and de-escalation. Staff will also learn how to intervene if the child poses a threat to himself or others. The school district also provides techniques that are specific to individual student’s needs and capabilities, school officials said.
School transportation officials plan to monitor the special education bus routes to ensure students’ safety.
