BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — School discipline discussions took place in Brevard County on Tuesday with school board chairman Matt Susin explaining one of the issues officials are having is with parents trying to actually get on school buses, however, he said that it won’t be tolerated and they want their bus drivers to feel safe.

Charlene Coon has been driving buses for more than two decades and three years in Brevard County. Over the years, the bus driver has dealt with her fair share of issues, including one on Nov. 6, 2022.

“I had kids throwing objects on my bus at me. They kept standing while I was driving,” said Coon. “This was trying to get them from the school through my route.”

Now, changes to the district’s discipline policy for transportation are being made and they include a faster referral process.

“We shored up the discipline policy process when a referral goes out with how much time. So, if there is an individual that has an issue where they use bodily harm or something like that, we are supposed to process those and have that done within 24 hours, which is very incredible,” Susin said. “One of the problems we had was that we were not reporting those, or not doing those for two or three days. A bus driver would have to drive with the same kid that started a fight like that before.”

He said they are also addressing the issue of parents trying to enter school buses.

“I need them to know (if) you walk on our bus, you are getting arrested. If you don’t, I mean you are going to get trespassed and you won’t be able to come to our school," said Susin. "Your name will go into a database. We’ve literally got parents that are entering and yelling at kids and stuff like on our buses. It’s got out of control.”

For the most part, Coon said she had good experiences, but sometimes there are outbursts.

“There needs to be a change in discipline, because right now everybody’s hands are tied. Nobody can do anything with the children and children need consequences,” she said. “They need consequences.”

Susin said the next steps include sending out an e-mail to parents encouraging them to talk with their students as they begin to crack down on discipline. Additionally, he said all of the police chiefs for all of the municipalities that serve Brevard Public Schools will also be notified about this effort as they begin to tackle discipline issues.