In April 2016, an autistic girl was allowed to be molested for as long as 20 minutes while riding on a school bus owned and operated by First Student, Inc. in Shawnee Mission, Kansas.  The father of the student filed suit, claiming First Student was negligent in failing to have an adult properly monitoring the students during the incident.  According to the lawsuit, the school bus aide who was supposed to be monitoring the passengers left before the school bus departed from school, and the school bus driver apparently did not see the activity which occurred only two rows of seats behind her.  In the course of the litigation, the trial court rejected First Student's request for summary judgment and a dismissal based on alleged protection and immunity under the Kansas Tort Claims Act (KTCA), and First Student appealed.

In R.P. v. First Student, Inc., the Kansas Court of Appeals examined whether a private company providing school bus services under contract with a school district qualifies as a "governmental entity" under the KTCA. The appellants, First Student, argued they should be considered an "instrumentality" of the school district and therefore subject to the KTCA's protections, including immunity from punitive damages and the requirement for plaintiffs to give pre-suit notice.

The appellate court found that First Student, a private for-profit corporation operating as an independent contractor, did not qualify as a governmental entity under the KTCA. The court noted that under Kansas law, entities are generally not considered instrumentalities unless they are integral to or under the control of a governmental entity. The court also emphasized that First Student's contractual designation as an independent contractor, its separate management structure, and lack of school district control over its operations affirmed its status outside the scope of the KTCA. Consequently, the court ruled that First Student was not entitled to KTCA immunity or protections, allowing the negligence and punitive damages claims against it to proceed without the pre-suit notice requirement. The decision underscored the importance of the governmental control and purpose in determining KTCA applicability to private contractors.

Accordingly, the appellate court affirmed the trial court's denial of First Student's motion for summary judgment and remanded the case back to the trial court for further proceedings. The company's attempt to expand KTCA immunity and protection to cover it failed.  The opinion made it clear that transportation companies like First Student are not an instrumentality of the KTCA, have no right to receive pre-suit notice under K.S.A. 75-6105(c), and are not exempt from punitive damages claims.

If you or your child suffered injury or distress on a First Student school bus, please contact our offices.  Our attorneys have success and experience in litigating against these companies.  Call or write us for a complimentary consultation.

Tags: School Bus Abuse, School Bus Harassment, School Bus Damages