Florida school bus driver disciplined after running a red light with students on board

MARION COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida school bus driver was issued a formal reprimand after being caught on camera blowing through a red light with children on board.

The incident was captured by a local parent’s dashcam, sparking concerns over student safety and the district's disciplinary policies.

Now, the Marion County Public School District, who confirmed that the bus driver in question works for its district, said the driver was issued a formal reprimand. 

Parents in shock, refuse to let children on district buses 

What we know:

A Marion County Public School bus was transporting seven work study students from Bridgeway Academy on Southwest State Road 200 in Ocala, the school district told FOX 35. Around 3:30 p.m., Friday, May 1, dashboard camera video shows the school bus driving through an intersection at a red light while all the surrounding cars stopped.

Now, parents are saying they don't feel safe letting their children ride the district buses. 

"We’re just driving down 200, you know, normal business as usual," the parent who captured the dashboard video told FOX 35. 

"It kind of caught the corner of my eye that that bus wasn’t going to stop," he said. "I was kind of in shock. … I decided I'd never let my kids go on a school bus."

An internal investigation: School district responds

What they're saying:

After the parent reached out to MCPS with the footage, officials launched an internal investigation, the district confirmed. 

Kevin Christian, a spokesperson for Marion County Public Schools, confirmed that the district reviewed the video and interviewed the driver. Under the current contract with the bus drivers' union, the driver was issued a formal reprimand.

"They watched that video, they talked to that driver," Christian said. "That driver was issued a reprimand per the contract that we have with the bus drivers' union and district policy."

 According to the district, this was the driver's first recorded infraction. The driver has not been publicly identified. 

"It's not acceptable for the driver to run a red light," Christian added. "I'm sure we have all made mistakes behind the wheel. I think that’s what happened in this case."

While the district acknowledged the driver’s actions were unacceptable, officials stated that the mistake would not result in the driver losing his job.

Is a reprimand enough? 

The parent who caught the incident on camera says he hopes the discipline is enough to ensure it doesn't happen again.

"I'm assuming they understand they shouldn't have ran a red light with kids in the bus," he said.

What's next:

FOX 35 reached out to the union representing Marion County bus drivers regarding their policy on traffic violations. As of this report, they have not responded to our request for comment.