District changes school bus policies following reports of assaults
Great Bend (Kan.) School District 428 now requires adults to sit among students on bus trips and is adding cameras to all its buses after two students reported being sexually assaulted on the bus.
SALINA, Kan. — A school district is changing its practices regarding adult monitoring and supervision on bus trips after two students reported being sexually assaulted on the bus, according to KWCH.
Great Bend Unified School District 428 is now requiring adults to sit among students on bus trips and is adding cameras to all its buses, a parent of one of the students who reported being assaulted told the news source.
A 15-year-old student reported to the Saline County Sheriff's Department that he was sexually assaulted on Feb. 3 on a bus trip home from an athletic competition. The mother of another student told KWCH that her son reported being sexually assaulted several days later by teammates on a trip back from a swim meet. The Ellsworth County sheriff believes that a crime occurred in the second incident, and he told the news source that he hopes to present his case to the county attorney for possible charges by this Wednesday.
The school district released a statement on Monday that said it is investigating the Feb. 3 incident and is cooperating with law enforcement. The statement also said the district had revised its practices as of Feb. 8 “to reduce the likelihood of any inappropriate behavior,” according to KWCH.
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