Pasco Schools Employee Slaps Student with Down Syndrome and Autism: Body Cam Reveals Concerns

Incident of Student Slapping

• 🚌 A Pasco County Schools employee is reported to have slapped a 19-year-old student with Down syndrome and autism across the face.
• 💔 The student's mother is actively fighting to see the body cam video of the incident.

Bus Assistant's Prior History

• ⚠️ Public records reveal this was not the first time the bus assistant had put hands on a student.
• 📚 A previous incident involved the same assistant returning physical actions to a child who was hitting and pushing him.
• 🏫 The district had offered the employee additional training less than three months before the incident with Ian.

Additional Alleged Concerns

• 🚨 A Pasco County Schools employee stated in body cam footage that there had been two other incidents with the bus assistant putting his hands on children since January.
• 🚫 The school district initially claimed they were not aware of these additional concerns but are now reviewing the information.

Investigation and Response

• 🕵️ A child protective investigator (CPI) was involved in a prior incident, indicating the investigation went beyond the school district.
• ❓ The mother questions why the bus assistant was allowed to continue working with children after a prior incident was treated as a "smack on the hand."
• 🔒 The bus assistant's interview was exempt from public record, citing state statute.
• 🗣️ The bus assistant stated he pushed the student after the student tried to bite him.
• ⚖️ Despite the incident report, the deputy recommended the case be unfounded, with the sheriff's office stating there was no criminal intent.
• 📝 The mother has filed a notice of intent to sue Pasco County Schools.