2 Des Moines school employees fired after 'abuse'

The Des Moines Public School District fired two people last month after a school bus aide "physically abused" a special needs student on a bus, according to state documents.

During a 14-minute bus ride Nov. 4, 2015, school bus aide Ruby B. Taylor had ignored the crying of a special needs student, telling him he was "too big to be crying," and eventually pushed his face into a window, according to an Iowa Workforce Development unemployment insurance decision.

The bus driver, Terri L. Brown, did nothing to stop Taylor's actions, the documents show.

Both Taylor and Brown were fired Dec. 1, 2015.

According to the state documents, the special needs student was "visibly upset crying" when he got on the school bus Nov. 4.

As the student got on the bus, Taylor yelled at him, telling him he was "too big to be crying." School and state officials could later see what happened on the school bus' video, the documents state.

Two teacher's aides secured him in his seat, as he is required to have a wraparound seat belt. Taylor did not secure the student's seat belt straps tight enough, so he was able to repeatedly stand up during the bus ride.

As the bus was moving, Taylor was on her personal cellphone, ignoring students. The special needs student continued crying throughout the bus ride, repeatedly standing up.

When Taylor finally noticed the student standing, she yelled at him, the documents state. She did not secure his seat belt to prevent him from standing.

The special needs student eventually hit another student on the head, prompting Taylor to yell at him and pull him down by the arm onto the seat.

"For the next seven minutes (Taylor) pins the student against the side of the bus more and more tightly. Eventually she has the student pinned with his face against the side of the bus and the window frame," the documents state. "All of this is visible to the bus driver (Brown), who does nothing to stop (Taylor) from pinning the child against the window frame.

"(Taylor) continues to press harder and harder until the student has his cheek pressed against the glass and is unable to move his head. She does not release the child until the bus arrives at his stop," the documents state.

The next day, the student's mother complained to the school, leading to the district's investigation, which resulted in the school district firing Taylor and Brown.

Amanda Lewis, spokeswoman for the school district, said Friday in a statement:

"Student safety is our top concern, and so when an incident is reported to the district, the administration takes immediate action to remove the employee from contact with students until an investigation is completed. DMPS has clear rules of employee conduct and if those rules are violated, steps are taken up to and including termination.

"Cases involving mistreatment of a student are a clear violation of the trust and expectation the district has that all of its employees work in the best interests of the students we serve."

Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said the incident was not reported to police, so there is no criminal investigation.

Lewis said the school did not call police because "school districts are required by Iowa law to conduct investigations if there are concerns of wrongdoing by employees. That was done in this case, and it was determined that a police complaint was not warranted but that the employees should be dismissed for clear violations of our rules of conduct."

The state unemployment insurance decision documents deny unemployment benefits to Brown and Taylor, because they were fired for misconduct.

Brown had worked at the Des Moines school district since 1993, and Taylor had worked there since 1995.

The Nov. 4, 2015, incident causing the school district to fire Brown and Taylor happened days after a Johnston school bus driver was arrested Oct. 29 for assaulting a special needs student on a school bus.