A school bus attendant for Albuquerque, N.M., Public Schools by the name of Debbie Chavira, 64, has been arrested after she was recorded on surveillance video repeatedly hitting an autistic student.

Details of the Incident

Police stated that the student was struck in the face, torso, and arms a total of 59 times between August 26 and September 4. School officials reported Chavira after the child arrived with “fresh scratch marks on the back of his neck.”

Officials viewed surveillance footage during the investigation where they saw Chavira repeatedly hitting the child. The child was unable to be interviewed due to being non-verbal and unable to communicate through writing.

Chavira resigned from her position on September 5 and was arrested on October 4. She is currently under pre-trial supervision. The charges include five counts of abandonment or abuse of a child, and a representative could not be immediately found for her.

Albuquerque Public Schools has gone on record stating that the district does “not tolerate this kind of behavior.”

SBF reached out to the district to request more details and find out if the driver was aware. The response: "The investigation is continuing. We can't say anything beyond that."

A similar situation occurred in Littleton, Colo., earlier this year. The accused was arrested in April and is set to go on trial in February 2025. She was also removed from her position shortly after the abuse was reported.

Other incidents have happened in the past, with parents filing lawsuits against school districts.

The Importance of Speaking Up

In both of these cases, the accused were recorded with on-board surveillance cameras. While these cameras provided evidence showing the crimes being committed, it was not until several days after the initial incidents when action was taken.

Surveillance cameras are good for providing evidence when a crime has been committed, however those on site are often the ones making reports about incidents that occurred. Notifying the appropriate authorities when an incident occurs can ensure that action is taken as swiftly as possible.

Some districts are installing incident monitoring safety tech to help keep tabs on what is going on on their buses. This tech can provide real-time video of incidents as they occur to transportation supervisors and school administrators.

While the courts may take a long time to come to a verdict, districts often can take more immediate action to ensure a child’s safety and prevent further incidents from occurring.

Preventing These Situations

Ideally, steps will be taken to prevent these types of situations from occurring at all.

Students with autism who ride buses to and from school can pose a challenge to districts, as these students can be exposed to factors that make them so uncomfortable that they become agitated and lash out. However, there are a number of steps that can be taken to mitigate these factors.

Training is available for school bus drivers and aides to help them handle these situations appropriately. It has been discovered that school transportation staff are pivotal members of the team supporting children with autism.

Some steps that can be taken include:

• Forming an individualized transportation plan (ITP) for the student.

• Stick to a consistent routine.

• Identify and minimize triggers.

• Calmly give clear direction to students with autism.

• Use special tools to communicate with nonverbal students.

• Cover details for school bus emergencies.

• Communicate with teachers and the student’s parents.

More details on how to make bus rides easier for students with autism can be found here.