CARROLLTON, VA — A mother in Isle of Wight County says her son, who has autism, Down syndrome, and is nonverbal, is facing challenges on his school bus, and she is fighting for answers from the school district.
Jeanine Scherrer's 21-year-old son, Trevor, is enrolled in the extended learning program at Smithfield High School. He rides the bus to and from school, but Scherrer says incidents during drop-off have raised serious concerns about how he is being treated.
"The bus driver was yelling at Trevor. Trevor, Trevor, come on get off the bus," Scherrer said. "Get off the bus, let's go, get off the bus."
Scherrer shared home security video of Trevor getting off the bus. In the video, someone can be heard yelling and clapping, though the person is not visible on camera. Moments later, Trevor is seen walking off the bus with help from his caretaker.
Scherrer says she has noticed similar issues during drop-off since October.
"I need to stand up for my son and make sure that he's being treated fairly," Scherrer said.
I reached out to the school district. A spokesperson told me they are aware of Scherrer's claims and have asked her to contact the transportation department to schedule a face-to-face meeting.
Here's the entire district's statement:
"We acknowledge the concerns raised and have been in communication with the parent via email since their initial notification. Today, the parent was asked to contact our Transportation department to schedule a face-to-face meeting to address the matter. We look forward to sitting down with the parent and bringing this matter to a resolution."
However, Scherrer says she has tried to schedule that meeting and hit a roadblock over who can attend.
"I want to sit down and talk about this, how can we resolve this, how can we fix this, and we were told that they will only talk to me and me only," Scherrer said.
Scherrer says she wants Trevor's case manager and caretaker to be present at the meeting, describing both as heavily involved in his daily care.
She shared an email from the school district's transportation coordinator stating the meeting is only for school staff and the parent.
We reached back out to the district for clarification, but they said they would get back to us.
"I love my son, I would do anything for him, he's a good kid," Scherrer said. "All of them are good kids, they just want to be treated fairly, and I just want to make sure that he's safe, he's treated fairly, and that he has a good life."
As of March 5, Trevor had a new bus and bus driver for drop-off. Scherrer says she is still waiting to schedule the meeting with the school district.
