The parents of special needs students in Colorado want answers after a video showing a child being abused on a school bus went viral. The young boy in the video is reportedly autistic and nonverbal and couldn't tell his parents what was happening when they sent him to school. Sadly, it appears a trusted adult who was supposed to care for the students was hurting them instead.
Kiarra Jones, 28, was reportedly working as a school bus aide for the Littleton Public Schools when she allegedly physically attacked at least three students on the bus route. The children were students at the Joshua School, a private school that caters to children with autism, when their parents say they noticed physical injuries. Jones was arrested, and the parents banded together and hired an attorney, hoping for justice for their children.
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Parents first went to the school with their concerns.
According to CBS News, the parents of one of the victims, identified only as Jess and Devin, reported that they began to notice bruising on their 10-year-old son in September 2023. When they approached Joshua School with their concerns, administrators assured them that the injuries did not happen at their facility and told them to check with the school district. Officials allegedly told Jess everything was OK.
Sadly, that apparently wasn't the case.
The mother addressed the media in a news conference and explained that one day, after talking to the district, she received a call from the police.
"I notified LPS on March 18 and on March 19 got a phone call from Littleton police informing me that an LPS employee had severely abused my child," Jess said. "I went to the LPS transportation building and was in utter shock."
The family viewed the footage and was disturbed by what they saw. The video appears to show their son, Dax, being physically assaulted by Jones while riding on the bus.
The family made the difficult decision to release the footage.
Jess and Devin felt it was important for the public to see the video of the interaction between Jones and their son.
"Although it's hard to watch, that's what my child has endured for months due to inaction by Littleton Public Schools," Jess said. "He had to live through that every day. The least we can do is bring awareness to a situation that is unfortunately more common than you would think. There needs to be change."
The Joshua School stands behind its staff.
The school posted a statement on its website regarding the allegations against Jones:
“We were first made aware of bruising by the mother of a student in January of 2024. Self-injurious behavior and unexplained bruising isn’t uncommon in our students, but because of the concern of a mother trying to identify the source of her child’s injuries, we contacted the school district to request a review of transportation footage for anything out of the ordinary. At that time, we were assured by LPS that nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. We then continued to communicate and work with the mother to identify the source of her child’s injuries.”
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Jones reportedly passed a background check.
A letter from LPS to parents indicates that Jones was hired in April 2023, after passing a background check and reference checks, per CBS News. The alleged incident came as a complete shock.
"This kind of behavior cannot be and is not tolerated," the letter from LPS reads. "As parents, you trust us with the well-being of your children and you should never have to worry about them being harmed when they are in our care."
Jones was arrested and charged with crimes against at-risk juveniles, third-degree assault, and crimes against at-risk juveniles- injury. She posted a $5,000 bond and is due in court on May 3.
