Summit County school district launches investigation after alleged ‘school bus segregation’

STOW, Ohio (WOIO) - Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools has launched a full investigation after a student says they were separated by their race on the school bus.

The student’s mother tells 19 News she is distraught over this situation.

“I received a phone call from my child and they stated that the bus driver had separated the Black kids from the white kids and had the Black kids move up to the front of the bus and they couldn’t sit in the back of the bus with the other white kids,” she said.

The mother said she immediately called the school and spoke with a receptionist and a supervisor. That official told her seat assignments had changed because of behavioral problems and she says they confirmed her fear.

“She said by law, we have the right to sit kids wherever we see fit and I was basically saying, I’m a Black parent, you’re telling me you have the right to sit the Black kids in the front, separated away from the white kids, that’s segregation,” she said.

The mother sent an email asking for the bus driver to be placed on administrative leave while they look into the allegations.

The Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools district confirmed to 19 News it launched a full investigation and is conducting interviews with the mother, students and bus drivers.

The district first learned about the incident from the mother’s email, a spokeswoman told 19 News in a statement.

“The district first learned of an allegation by a parent that students were being segregated on a bus based on race through an email sent at 9:45 p.m. last night. By 7:00 a.m. today, the district initiated a full investigation, and since then, the district has had multiple communications with the parent regarding her concerns and the status of the district’s investigation. While that investigation is still ongoing, preliminary information gathered thus far shows students of different races dispersed in seats throughout the bus. The district does not condone discrimination or segregation in any form and will take timely, appropriate measures in the event these allegations are found to be substantiated.”

The mother told 19 News she is working with administrators to get to the root of this terrible turn of events and now she fears retaliation for speaking out.

“I want there to be change. They talk about in their vision statement about everybody being equal and there being opportunities for everybody and everybody being treated and feeling the same way and that’s what I want for my child,” she said.

There is surveillance video on the school bus and 19 News has asked the district to release it.

This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.