JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Violent school bus beatings are happening in the area, but no one is stepping in to stop the fights and Action News is getting answers about why it's happening.
Local bus companies say state law keeps their drivers from stepping in to break up a fight, an email to Action News from the Department of Education says differently.
In January, an Ocala teen was beaten so badly on a bus, she was unconscious.
On Tuesday, the same kind of violence happened in Baker County. A 15-year-old was accused of beating up a 13-year-old girl. The report details video of the 15-year-old hitting the student in the back of the head over and over. In both attacks, all the bus driver did was yell for them to stop.
Former bus driver Patricia Young says that's all they can do. "You can't touch the kids, break up fights," said Young.
She says drivers are told just to pull over the bus and verbally tell the kids to stop fighting. Then call police. "I could get sued. The company could get sued. The school board could get sued," said Young.
So, we went to the Department of Education for answers. We learned there are no state laws saying bus drivers can't step in. It's up to local school districts to create a policy. Action News contacted Duval, St. Johns and Baker county school districts. They all said there's no policy in place saying bus drivers can't step in to break up fights.
But two different bus companies that transport your kids, First Student and Student Transportation of America, apparently don't know the law. Both insist drivers can't stop kids from fighting, which is the exact opposite of what the state and local counties told us.
Young is just hoping kids will realize the dangers and just let drivers get them home safely. "That's all I can do," said Young.
The Department of Education tells Action News they will look into this discrepancy further because of what the two local school bus companies told us.
