SEATAC, Wash. — School bus driver Jeanette Burrage resigned her position as a city council member after allegedly slapping a 6-year-old student with autism, the Associated Press reports.

Burrage, a former member of the Des Moines City Council and a former state judge, was charged with fourth-degree assault based on an incident that occurred on March 10, according to the news source.

Elizabeth Lyshol, the mother of Christian Lyshol, viewed district footage of the incident and told The Seattle Times it started when he became agitated after unexpectedly being put on a school bus instead of the van he routinely rides. The bus monitor asked Burrage for help because Christian’s behavior was escalating. Burrage moved into his personal space, he raised his hand as if to strike her, and Burrage slapped him across the face, Lyshol said.

The King County Sheriff’s Office told the Associated Press that Highline Public Schools employees who viewed the bus surveillance video from the afternoon routes on the day of the incident reported it to SeaTac Police Department. A school district spokesperson says the district has begun the termination process.