The Monticello Central School District is aware of an altercation that transpired between two students on a school bus on Monday, September 20. We are following up with the students and families involved to provide appropriate district resources. While we cannot share specific remedial action due to student privacy laws, any actions taken will be in accordance with our student code of conduct. The health and safety of our students is always the district’s top priority, and we act swiftly on any reported incidence of violence, aggression or bullying.
While we do not have bus monitors on every route due to budgetary limits and staffing limitations imposed due to COVID-19, our vehicles are equipped with cameras that enable us to monitor and review student activity and incidents on the bus.
We encourage any students who experience or witness incidents like this to report it to a staff member, so that we can promptly address it. We also have an “Anonymous Alerts” platform that enables staff, students or community members to anonymously submit concerns to school administration. We utilize anti-bullying and positive behavior programs such as Olweus and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to help our students develop empathy and conflict resolution skills, while helping our staff members identify and prevent problematic situations and behaviors. We’ll continue to review our programming and code of conduct to see how we can continue fostering a culture of kindness and a safe learning environment for our students.
Update; Sept. 22, 2:11 p.m.
The district is aware of a video currently being shared on social media which depicts two students engaged in an altercation on a district bus in September of 2019.
We remain unable to share specific disciplinary action taken in response to that incident two years ago due to student privacy laws. However, we stress that we always utilize every available district resource to address incidents that relate to our students’ safety, in accordance with our code of conduct.