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Littleton Public Schools agreed Thursday to pay $3.85 million to the families of three children who are autistic and were abused by a school bus monitor.
The school board voted unanimously to approve the settlement Thursday, slightly more than two weeks after former bus monitor Kiarra Jones pleaded guilty to abusing the three boys while they were riding the bus to and from The Joshua School, a private school in Englewood.
Littleton Public Schools was contracted to bus the students, who are nonverbal and autistic, to and from school each day. Jones abused the boys on their bus rides for about six months, between September 2023 and March 2024, before authorities discovered surveillance video that showed the woman elbowing, stomping and punching the students.
The boys’ parents frequently asked teachers and officials at The Joshua School about their sons’ unexplained bruises and injuries while the abuse was going on, but school officials claimed the children were injuring themselves.
The families have filed a lawsuit against The Joshua School, alleging that school officials mishandled their concerns and never reported suspicions of abuse to outside authorities, enabling the monitor’s abuse.
In a statement, attorneys from Denver law firm Rathod Mohamedbhai said the three families appreciate the school district’s willingness to resolve the case early to allow for the children to start healing.
“No parent should have to wonder if their children will come home from school hurt by the very people entrusted to care for them,” attorneys for the families said Thursday night.
Littleton Public Schools has changed policies around reviewing and retaining bus surveillance, according to the statement.
“The families continue to advocate for the rights of their children and for the dignity and rights of the Autism community as a whole,” attorneys for the three families said. “They continue to seek accountability and justice from everyone who played a role in not ending the abuse against their children sooner through their ongoing lawsuit against The Joshua School.”
Joshua School Executive Director Cindy Lystad previously issued a statement that put blame for the abuse on Littleton Public Schools and said the school stands by teachers and staff members.
School board members did not comment on the settlement before or after approving it Thursday night, but district officials posted a letter online from Superintendent Todd Lambert addressing the settlement shortly after the vote.
The settlement will be “fully funded through insurance” and will have “no adverse impact on the educational services LPS students receive,” Lambert wrote.
“We will continue to look for ways to strengthen our practices, to communicate transparently with you, and to do everything in our power to ensure the safety, dignity and well-being of every student in our care,” he wrote.
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