The Great Falls Tribune has reported that a Montana-area sheriff’s department is investigating a case of a developmentally disabled girl being left on a school bus for three hours after the bus dropped other students off.
The 16-year-old girl, who has the cognitive ability of a 4 year old, needed to be in a restraint system harnessed to the bus seat for safety. School officials stated the school bus driver simply forgot to take the girl off the bus.
The driver was placed on paid leave during the investigation. The girl’s family reported that she is no longer attending school in the district.
The Corvallis superintendent claimed the district is improving the way attendance information is shared between drivers and special services staff.