Thank you for taking the time to read about my initiative. I want to first give you some background information on how all of this came to be.

In December, 2004, I noticed profound changes in my 12-year-old son Andy’s behavior. He began saying ‘shut-up’ at home and he was angry, an emotion that he rarely showed.

It was around this time that his bus driver and aide were apparently upset with the way he was playing with a hand held radio he had just received as a gift. The radio helped to keep Andy entertained and it meant a great deal to him. The bus driver and aide pretended to throw it out the window to punish Andy. You can imagine how this would upset any child, and it upset Andy greatly. When Andy got off the bus that day he was extremely aggravated, and it was therefore a struggle for him to have a successful day at school.

It was only after learning of this incident that I began to realize that Andy’s negative behavior at home and at school were attributed to his treatment on the 12 minute, one way bus ride to school.

I attempted to rectify the situation by contacting the school district, the terminal bus manager, and Andy’s school, but no changes were implemented. It was then that I took matters into my own hands in order to find out exactly how Andy was being treated. I sewed a digital recorder into Andy’s backpack and recorded his bus ride one morning. I was appalled at what I heard. Playing off one another, the bus driver and aide were verbally abusing Andy.

After reviewing the recording I went to the local police to formally file a complaint, but was told that there was nothing they could do. Once again, I took matters into my own hands by enlisting the help of a Private Investigator.

I thought long and hard about what happened to Andy and was grateful he was able to verbally communicate to me. I then thought about non-verbal children who are exposed to this abuse and are unable to communicate to anyone. With this frightening realization, I decided something must be done.

Channel 2 news covered my story as well as a local disability radio show. I began an E-mail account, safebus@hotmail.com, allowing parents to share similar bus horror stories. After reading many letters, I found this is happening much too often.

My goal is to increase community awareness, and to secure legislation that mandates ALL special education buses to be equipped with audio and visual recording equipment. I feel that if people are held accountable for their actions and words, abuse against the most vulnerable children can and will be virtually eliminated.

And finally, a heartfelt thank you to Rick at Security Associates and Paul and Jeremy of Empire Investigations. None of this would be possible without your firm belief that what happened truly was a crime.

I thank you for your support in speaking volumes for children who can't.