LAWSUIT: Texas bus driver endangers children, subjects them to extreme heat during ‘punishment’

SEALY, Texas (KWTX) - Parents and members of the Sealy community are outraged at a Sealy Independent School District bus driver for subjecting children to extreme heat conditions on Aug. 22 as a means of punishment.

In a video depicting the incident, the bus driver stopped mid-route on a dirt road and instructed the children to roll their windows up after previously dropping her own daughter off.

Coshenna Smith, the mother of two of the who were children on the bus, is being represented by national civil rights attorney Harry Daniels.

Daniels said the only source of air-conditioning on the bus was a personal fan for the driver and the children were in 103-degree heat.

The children began to cry and plead with the driver to drive faster, saying that it was difficult to breathe in those conditions, according to Daniels. The driver, however, allegedly only drove three miles in the span of 30 minutes.

In another video, two children can be seen returning home from the hellish bus route.

Smith’s daughter in the video, who suffers from chronic asthma, is crying while explaining to her mother that she could not breathe in the hot vehicle. Smith’s son can be seen removing his shirt that is drenched in sweat.

“People are arrested all the time because they accidentally subjected their children to these conditions while they ran into a gas station,” said Daniels. “This woman intentionally put these children at risk for more than half an hour during a 103-degree heat advisory and no one has done anything.”

Daniels says the family and attorneys are currently reviewing all legal avenues including a potential civil lawsuit against the school district.

“This isn’t punishment,” said Daniels. “It’s torture and it’s child endangerment.”

[Thaumic]

i feel for the kids in this video, especially when i can't imagine being in their position

[ameliawilder]

If you think punishing the kids by making them hot will work, she was sadly mistaken. Look how worse the situation became and more so distracting to the driver.

Back when I was a highschooler years ago, whenever students became rowdy (which was not as often; students were more civilized), what my bus driver would do is either pull over and wait until the students quieted down, or in extreme circumstances turn around and go back to the school where we are greeted by our very pissed off principal, who would then enter the bus and demand who the troublemakers were, cuss them, and if needed, would kick out the misbehaving students. The drive after that would be dead quiet😂

[orangeduck]

listen, idc if you dont believe me, but i was on thus bus too. Not at the time of recording but it was extremely hot due to the insane texas heat. she even claims that she gives us 4 minutes after the bell rings to get to her bus, ITS ONLY 1 MINUTE

[johnpeterson]

Just not acceptable at all she needs to have charges brought against her and removed from her job !

[dannyhonn]

As a driver, you only have windows down and hatches open. Only special needs busses have AC. Drivers dont control what fans there are, and we are sitting behind an engine cranking out 200F. What fans there are, AC, is controlled by the company that owns the bus. Most only now have 1 fan to save them $.
I agree, its not right. Sit down, I'll get you home as fast as I can. But for safety, I CANT have them standing up when moving. Having arms and heads out windows are a good way to lose them.

[chrystalmlopez]

And that principle needs fired to since he clearly doesn’t have the children’s safety first

[duane]

What about high school and middle school coaches that use high heat & no water on hot days as punishment for team/players? Parents are afraid to complain because the coaches will bench or remove player from team.

[dannyhonn]

Parents need to go to school board and complain about it. Put pressure on bus companies to get more fans or AC. Theyll bitch about the $, but theyd better consider its cheaper than a lawsuit when a kid has heatstroke.
Bring water bottles. Small, battery powered fans, some use the kind that drapes around the neck.
But, please, dont take it out on us. We're melting too. We'll get you to school and home as soon as we can

[bobbrown]

I'm curious.... what did humans do prior to the invention of A/C? I own a 1966 ford truck that does not have power brakes, power steering, power windows, power seats, power mirrors, or AIR CONDITIONING. Why are these kids placing their hands and arms out the windows when an adult in charge of them is telling them not to? Are there any branches or other objects that could harm the child outside? Is there a district policy preventing students from sticking their hands and arms outside the bus when in motion? Has there been complaints made against bus drivers for allowing kids to stick their limbs out the windows? When I was a kid, and we acted out on the bus, our driver absolutely pulled over and gave us a few minutes to settle down, and none of our buses had A/C back then. One time I remember the kids kept acting out and our driver stopped somewhere around 5 or 6 times, each for 5 minutes. It was the kids on my bus making it happen for not staying in their seats (a safety issue). If this bus route was only a few minutes anyways, why on earth couldn't those kids simply follow the rules for that short time? Anyone watching this, NEEDS to work or volunteer at a public school for a couple of weeks so they can see exactly what kids are doing and how they act while under the supervision of school employees. The following quote says alot to me about these kids: "It's not our fault you signed up for this"...I know I didn't sign up for kids to make me or my chosen job miserable.

[NLGSS]

if u cant keep ur body parts INSIDE the bus…then guess what …the window goes up. cant follow the rules then get kicked off the bus. there has nver been ac or heat on school buses since they rolled them out.

[StreetFighter]

The kid cussing had me dyyying but fr tho she outta line! 💯🤣🤣🤣

[Crowfist]

SHE HAS A FAN. She is the ONLY one with a fan.
She also has a MUCH LOWER METABOLIC RATE at her age, making her less prone to overheating.

She holds a position where she is to ENSURE the safety of children.
If she is so callous as to not care about the heat, why would she trusted to operate heavy machinery filled with tiny meatbags?

[chrystalmlopez]

I’m soo ticked, it’s uncalled for, ridiculous

[chrystalmlopez]

And that principle needs fired to since he clearly doesn’t have the children’s safety first