Couple fights for right to request bus driver records
7:30 p.m. Monday, February 19, 2007
“Find out who the name of the man was that had pictures of our daughter what he was doing with them,” mother Shayla Johnston said.
It sounds like a request that any concerned parent in Kansas would make if their child said their bus driver took pictures of them on or off the bus. But under current Kansas law public schools that hire private bus companies are not required to release information about their drivers.
"Anyone with control over our children during the day there's no reason why these bus drivers should have more privileges than our teachers and have their names disclosed."
House Bill 2309
AN ACT concerning records of certain governmental agencies.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:Section 1. Any governmental entity, as defined by subsection (c) of K.S.A. 2006 Supp. 75-6102, and amendments thereto, which employs or contracts for the services of a driver of a commercial motor vehicle for the purpose of transporting students or members of the public, shall make available, upon request, the following information:
- (a) The driver’s name;
- (b) position;
- (c) salary or actual compensation; and
- (d) length of service.
Sec. 2. This act shall be considered supplemental to the Kansas open records act.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its publication in the statute book.
That's what happened to Shayla Johnston and husband Adam Gash. Their ten-year-old daughter Sara, now 11, got off the bus from school and her male bus driver asked to take a picture of her getting off the bus.
She told her father, his heart sank thinking the worst. Shayla wanted answers, but the district and Durham bus services refused to give her the name of the driver.
Durham serves schools districts in 26 states and 18 districts in Kansas including District 501 in Topeka.
"I'd put my kid on the bus because we do more than anyone else in the state,” Durham Bus Services representative B.J. Garcia said.
Shayla said it took eight months before she knew the name of her daughter’s driver. He was terminated within 48 hours after her complaint. But they've still never even seen the photos taken of their daughter, and neither have police.
The school district said they took care of the problem.
"They just said they were innocent in nature and I assure you they've been deleted,” Johnston said.
"That should, in my opinion they should've taken that up with me. It's my job to decide whether or not it's an innocent picture. It's my child, not theirs," Gash said.
The couple hopes their testimony will get bill 2309 to pass in Kansas so this doesn't happen to any other parent.
Comments
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Feb. 19, 2007 at 11:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)Linda (anonymous)
GOOD FOR THE PARENTS!!! Persistence pays.
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