Madison County Public Schools is changing its policies after a kindergartner was left on a school bus for seven hours on Dec. 15.
The five-year-old Brush Creek Elementary School student was left on the bus by driver Jonathan E. Shelton, 34, who parked the vehicle in the parking lot and closed its door. Shelton signed a document stating he saw nothing wrong with the bus, the Citizen-Times reports.
Shelton was arrested and charged with one count of misdemeanor child abuse. The district has yet to determine if he will lose his job.
Buses will now be checked a second time by another school employee. Additionally, the superintendent wants to have buttons installed in the back of every bus that drivers must push to turn off the vehicles’ engines.
