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School removes buses’ animal signs following complaint

The signs had drawings of elephants, monkeys and other animals, and they were used to help students identify their buses, but Sandra Conner said that the signs had a “negative reinforcement,” and she confronted the school about them. The buses will now receive a number for identification purposes.

June 3, 2013
1 min to read


BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A charter school has removed the animal signs that were used to help students identify their school buses after a student’s grandmother complained, feeling that the signs were “insensitive,” the New York Daily News reports.

The buses will now receive a number. Prior to the complaint by Sandra Conner, the buses featured small drawings of elephants, monkeys and other animals, and the animals’ names written underneath. The buses that Conner’s granddaughter rides had “Monkeys” and “Elephants” signs on them. Conner told the New York Daily News that she ripped the signs off of the buses and confronted the drivers and the school about the signs.

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“It's subliminal. It's a negative reinforcement,” Conner told the news outlet. “They're not monkeys. They're not elephants. Imagine your kid has a weight problem and then you put him on the ‘Elephants’ bus. How would you feel about that?”

To read the full story, click here.

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