Berating driver uses school bus as 'bully' pulpit
An Indiana school bus driver and her school district are targeted by a lawsuit alleging harassment directed at a Christian student. In November 2008, a Christian at Carmel High School was engaged in a conversation with school bus driver Betty Campbell on homosexuality and homosexual marriage when the driver berated the girl, Rachael Zimmer, for her Christian-based stance. When the girl's father complained, he was told that the driver's behavior fell within the scope of her employment. The Zimmer family has now sued Carmel Clay Schools.
Micah Clark of the American Family Association of Indiana tells OneNewsNow the driver resorted to name-calling. I believe [she] may have actually come back on the school bus route later on," says Clark, "and even talked to the girl and some of her friends where she called the girl a 'stupid little bigot' for her views, and lectured her...about gay rights and same-sex marriage."
More damaging information has surfaced since the family filed the lawsuit.
"And yet the school bus driver, as far as I know, is still employed by the school and has not been fired," the Indiana family advocate says. "She should have immediately been fired because this also was caught on videotape by a cell phone or camera of some kind and has been played by the media [and] local news stations."
Clark contends it is obvious the driver was bullying the girl for her Christian views, which he says are shared by most Hoosiers. He adds that many Indiana residents who do not share the same views about marriage believe the driver was completely out of line in her actions.
Mississippi-based American Family Association notified its supporters of the episode in a recent Action Alert, encouraging Superintendent Dr. Tony Bennett to take appropriate action against the driver. [Editor's note: The AFA Action Alert includes a link to a video news report that contains surveillance video from the bus.]
