Rochester School District Addresses Bus Driver’s Alleged Racial Slur

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Rochester School district is addressing a bus driver's alleged use of a racial slur. 

Get our free mobile app

A statement issued by the school district Monday says the incident happened after school dismissal on Friday, October 27. The incident was captured on video and the footage has since been reviewed by district officials. 

The statement says students on board the bus that departed from Dakota Middle School were using a racial slur described as the “N-word.” The bus driver is alleged to have repeated the slur in its full form when asking students why it was acceptable to use the word. 

“Rochester Public Schools regards the use of that term as inappropriate in any way and in any setting within the school district or on the buses that transport our students to and from school. That is true for both students and adults,” part of the statement says. 

Along with reviewing the footage, district staff have also spoken with students who were on the bus why the use of that term is inappropriate in school or while using school transportation, the statement says. 

First Student, the company that contracts transportation services and hires bus drivers for the Rochester School District, is conducting its own investigation and has imposed disciplinary actions for the use of the term. 

Read the full statement from the Rochester Public School District below:

Rochester Public Schools takes this matter very seriously and has taken steps to address the incident. During a bus route home on Friday, October 27, the bus driver, in response to students who were using a racial slur that can be described as “the N-word,” repeated the full word when asking the students why it was acceptable to use the word. Rochester Public Schools regards the use of that term as inappropriate in any way and in any setting within the school district or on the buses that transport our students to and from school. That is true for both students and adults.

School district leaders have reviewed the video, and the students who were on the bus have since met with school staff to discuss why the use of that term is inappropriate in school or while using school transportation. First Student, the company that provides transportation services for RPS and that employs the driver who was involved in this incident, is conducting their own investigation and has imposed disciplinary consequences for the use of the term.