'That's not their job': Dad says sick kids were forced to clean school bus
A Nebraska man learned a bus driver held back two of his children before school last Friday.
"They were the only two that had to wipe the seats down and clean the seats off,” Diezeas Calbert said.
“Hands her some sanitizing wipes and tells her and her brother to start wiping the seats down because they were coughing and sneezing. Not coughing or sneezing on the seats, just coughing and sneezing.”
The First Student driver allegedly told the kids she didn't want her next group getting sick because of them.
“You’re making them wipe down the seats, telling them you're tired of them being sick when that's not their job. Let them get off the bus, let them go into school, let them learn. That's their job,” Calbert said.
Calbert said he's complained about the driver to First Student, the bussing company that Ralston contracts to transport students, for two years. He felt they weren't taking him seriously, so after this incident, he went to the school principal.
"Immediately upon learning about this concern Tuesday morning, staff reached our contracted transportation partner to begin investigating together, which continued through the afternoon,” a spokesperson for Ralston Public Schools said.
After Ralston reached out, First Student took the driver off the street.
“We are aware of the incident and we are currently looking into it and the driver has been removed from service while we do,” Jen Biddington, a spokesperson for First Student, said.
Calbert said disciplining the driver is a start.
“This is the first time I’ve gotten something out of it, in all the times that I’ve complained. This is the first time. But this is a step in the right direction, I believe."
First Student did not make any video of the incident, or the driver involved, available.