A bus driver who was under investigation after allegations of segregating students was fired, Comal ISD officials confirmed Friday.
Danville Middle School students and their parents claim that the bus driver “segregated by color." The claims were made on Facebook in a private community group.
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Though the district’s statement did not explicitly detail whether the segregation claims were true, officials said the driver was fired “based on a demonstrated lack of due diligence and professional judgment when instituting discipline.”
The bus driver disciplined students who did not deserve it, according to the statement.
“The bus driver’s failure to do her due diligence in investigating the behavior of students on Feb. 20 resulted in the disciplining of students on Feb. 24 who had not been guilty of misconduct,” the statement read.
One student said some other students were making loud noises, but she felt discriminated against after the driver handpicked students who were white to get off the bus, while selecting students of color, including herself, to remain on the bus.
“I was just sitting there next to my friend like normal, just being quiet, and the bus driver went down the aisle and told my friend, who is not of color, she could get off,” said one student told KSAT. “I told her I didn’t do anything wrong, and she just told me to shut up, and she kept going down the aisle.”
The student said the principal later arrived and addressed the students left on the bus about the noise complaint.
“You shouldn’t be hand-selected or handpicked because you are a certain race,” said Latoya Wright, a parent. “Everybody should have been addressed on that bus the same way despite who made those noises or not. Treat everybody the same. This is 2020, come on now.”
Multiple students claimed all the students of color were made to sit in the front while other students were sent to the back.