COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. — A former school bus monitor for Colonial Heights Public Schools recently pleaded guilty to assault and battery of a child after she admitted she struck a child with special needs on a school bus in April, CBS 6 reports.

Peggy Jordan’s lawyer said that she hit the 6-year-old boy in response to an outburst he had on the bus, according to the news source. Jordan previously denied striking the boy, CBS 6 reports. In an interview with CBS 6 in April, she told the news source that there were 18 students with special needs on the bus, and one of the students got upset and hit her, but that she didn’t hit any students.

In that interview, she added that she understands what it takes to calm down children with special needs, knows “what happens during a meltdown, and I know how to handle it, and it’s not by hitting a child.”

As part of a plea agreement, she was sentenced to 12 months of jail, with all 12 months suspended, and must take parenting classes, and complete 50 hours of community service and an anger management program. She will be on probation for three years, according to CBS 6. Another part of the plea agreement involved setting aside a second assault and battery charge against Jordan, which was related to another incident with another child on the bus, according to the news source.

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