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NEED A JOB? 

COMMITTED MURDER?  RAPE?  ROBBERY?  BATTERY?  ASSAULT? ARSON? PEDOPHILE? INTEREST IN PORNOGRAPHY?.............IN ANOTHER STATE?

IT’S O.K!!!!   COME TO RHODE ISLAND.  STATEWIDE-FIRST STUDENT AND OCEAN STATE TRANSIT WILL HIRE YOU!!

WORK FOR THE RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (R.I.D.E): STATEWIDE-FIRST STUDENT & OCEAN STATE TRANSIT- TRANSPAR SCHOOL BUS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.

CALL NOW: 401-222-5024 (R.I.D.E-STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION)

NATIONAL BCI CHECKS are not required in Rhode Island to secure a position as a bus driver, bus monitor, or bus aide.  What this means is that the person driving your child’s school bus or your child’s monitor or aide could have committed murder, rape, battery, assault, arson, or other crime in another state; be a pedophile or have an interest in pornography.  Statewide-First Student does not require National BCI checks during the hiring process and due to the costs refuses to perform a complete background check.  The Rhode Island General Assembly initiated the Statewide-First Student Transportation System and the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) oversees it.  The most important focus of the General Assembly and RIDE was saving money due to limited funding; both failed to give consideration to the protection of our children.  State Law Makers and School Districts need to realize that school begins with the school bus and bus personnel should be required to undergo vigorous background checks and training as personnel working within school buildings.  In order to protect our children on school buses, we need- Comprehensive and Specific Training of bus personnel, National BCI checks, and video cameras.

Call or write your State Law Makers (Representatives, Senators,....)and encourage them to support Bills that make National BCI checks a requirement to hiring school bus personnel; that support video cameras on school buses; and that require comprehensive and specific training of all bus personnel.

“YOUR CHILD’S LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.”

(This is not an actual advertisement, but the facts are true and without safeguards in place, our children will continue to ride unsafe school buses.)

NATIONAL AUTISM ASSOCIATION OFFER WAYS TO HELP KEEP OUR KIDS SAFE ON SCHOOL BUSES

So what can we do to help ensure the safety of our kids?

http://www.turnto10.com" title="News, Weather and Classifieds for Southern New England">News, Weather and Classifieds for Southern New England

• Talk to your school district:  Ask if there is a camera installed on your child’s bus, ask how long the recordings are archived and how you can request to review video if you have reason to suspect a problem.  Confirm that personnel background checks are done and ask if bus drivers and monitors receive specialized training prior to working with children with disabilities.
• Introduce yourself to your child’s bus staff, relay any concerns they should be aware of regarding your child’s individual needs.  For example, “Please use an eyes on, hands off approach,” or “My child needs to be supervised, but does not like to be touched.”
• Observe your child:  Watch for changes in behavior or anxiety when getting on or off the bus.  Remember that this could be due to issues at school as well, so be sure to have discussions with both school and bus staff about your concerns.
• Follow your gut – and the bus!  If you feel that something just isn’t right, drive the bus route at random times and monitor activity.
• Ask the school to assign a buddy or peer pal on the bus.
• Use photos of the bus driver and monitor as part of a social story for your child about going to school.  This will also allow your child to communicate with you using those same pictures.
• If you notice any signs of abuse, take pictures, document everything, and report it to your local police department.
• Work with school staff/speech pathologists to help your non-verbal child develop an effective means of communication.  Request an Assistive Technology Assessment if you feel your child would benefit from a communication/voice output device.
• Provide a Student Profile Form to your school and bus staff with information specific to your child’s individual needs.

While most people who choose to work with children with special needs are very caring and compassionate individuals, there are those who take advantage of the fact that our non-verbal children are the ultimate victims of abuse because they are unable to report crimes against them.  It is crucial for us as parents to put every possible safeguard into place.

Read more: http://nationalautismassociation.org/is-your-child-safe-on-the-school-bus/

UPDATE: BUS DRIVER AND MONITOR GETS OFF AFTER ASSAULT ON AUTISTIC CHILD

Due To Autistic Boys Inability to Talk, Bus Monitor and Driver Are Free To Go

On October 7, 2013, 13 year old Arizona Jacobowitz was assaulted on his school bus by his bus monitor, James Caton, and parents believe that the bus driver, James Miller, stopped the bus at some point and assisted the bus monitor; the bus driver had blood on his hands.  The local and State Police failed to check the bus driver’s hands for blood or wounds.  It is not known what actually occurred on the school bus, because Arizona has limited verbal ability and there were no cameras on the school bus.  The bus driver, James Miller, and two monitors, James Caton and Susan Souza, allege that Arizona began the incident.  Prior to working with Arizona, the neither bus monitors, nor bus driver received specific training on how to work with Arizona. 

The Attorney General’s Office, Paul Karnes, and State Police closed the case on Monday, December 2, 2013 due to lack of evidence-Arizona’s inability to communicate what happened and the lack of videotape footage.

In a letter to Arizona’s parents, the Barrington Public School department stated, “Neither cameras on the bus nor national background checks of bus personnel is required under Rhode Island State Law.”  Cameras and national background checks are not required by law and a decision that is made by each city or town.  Arizona’s parents believe that each city or town should be concerned about their student’s safety on school buses prior to an incident occurring.  Preventative measures, such as, cameras on school buses, training prior to working children with special needs, and national BCI checks can save parents and the public a lot of questions.  Arizona’s parents said that they will file a civil complaint and will not allow Arizona to ride State wide-First Student buses until safeguards are in place.

BY THE WAY, DID YOUR CHILD SPEND HIS OR HER SCHOOL DAY IN CLASS OR IN A SECLUSION ROOM?

Does Your School Have A Secret Seclusion Room That They Forgot To Tell You About?

Last year the Huffington Post reported that families across the country are challenging a system they say has not only failed to educate and protect their children, but also endangered their lives. According to the Huffington Post, dozens of lawsuits have been filed against schools and districts as parents speak out against physical disciplinary methods that have injured or killed their children, ABC News reports. The families claim that an extensive abuse of harsh methods to restrain misbehaving students -- many with special needs -- has become a chronic problem in U.S. schools.  ABC's family interviews reflect the findings of a federal report released in March.  The Huffington Post further reports that Education Department officials found that schools physically restrained students 39,000 times during the 2009-2010 school year, and about 70 percent of cases involved students with special needs.  Schools also are reducing nonviolent intervention training, according to a survey by the American Association of School Administrators, as states lose grants and face budget cuts.  There are currently no federal standards for the use of seclusion and restraint in schools, and only 17 states have explicit laws that limit the use of such punitive measures.  Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/30/school-seclusion-restraint_n_2219091.html  On November 20, 2013, NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters, Sabrina Kuriakose, in her report, “Seclusion Rooms Used 23,000 Times in Connecticut Schools,” reported that numbers from the State Department of Education show it's happening much more than experts and advocates thought. James McGaughey is the head of the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities. "That's just a huge number. So it ought to be high on everybody's agenda to deal with it,” said McGaughey.  Records show in the 2011-2012 school year, Connecticut children were put in isolation rooms more than 23,000 times.  “It's happening in almost every school district,” said Dr. Melissa Olive, an autism expert and founder of Applied Behavioral Strategies.  That number includes both emergency seclusions and seclusions in which staff is following an individualized educational program signed off on by parents for their kids with special needs, known as an IEP. But state investigations reveal that at Farm Hill School in Middletown, where a scream room controversy erupted last year, parents of only four of the fifteen children put in scream rooms agreed to the technique, and investigators said “Children who were secluded were both special education and regular education students."  Skeptics argue there is no evidence seclusion is effective, and they worry the rooms may do more harm than good.  "Not a good strategy. Not only does it have human rights implications, there's always a possibility of somebody being injured in the process of putting them into restraint or seclusion and there's also a psychological trauma that accompanies that,” said McGaughey.  To look up the use of seclusion rooms in schools across the state and to Read Full Story, click on http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/investigations/LWRD-Seclusion-Rooms-Used-23000-Times-in-Connecticut-Schools-232611351.html  See video below:

A BUS AIDE IS ACCUSED OF BREAKING A 5 YEAR OLD AUTISTIC BOY'S ARM

Photo by CBS New York

CBS New York reports that a school bus attendant has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a 5-year-old autistic boy.  Richard Mason, 39, a bus aide for Acme Bus Corp., grabbed Connor Shirangi’s arm and twisted it behind his back while trying to discipline the boy, police said.  Connor’s arm was fractured and he also sustained bruises to his face and abdomen, WCBS Sophia Hall reported.  According to CBS, the Commack school district issued the following statement Thursday: Yesterday we were advised that an incident occurred involving Commack students on a school bus operated by ACME Bus Company. ACME had been contracted by the District to provide mini-bus transportation for Commack students. The defendant is an employee of ACME not the School District.  As soon as we learned of the allegations, we immediately confirmed that the defendant had been removed from any and all District routes and will have no contact with our students. ACME has assured the District that the driver assistant had been properly screened and trained and that he had no prior incidents. The District will fully cooperate with the police in their investigation and, as always, the safety and welfare of children is our paramount concern.”  To Read Full Story and watch video, Click on http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/10/03/l-i-school-bus-attendant-accused-of-breaking-5-year-old-autistic-boys-arm/