Mother charged with assaulting Fayette school bus monitor. Family accuses monitor

The mother of a Fayette County Public Schools student was in jail Tuesday after being charged with assaulting a school bus monitor.

Tori Wright, 33, was charged with third degree assault of a school employee after the Thursday incident, court records show..

Wright “intentionally punched” the bus monitor — who was acting in the course of her employment — in the face multiple times causing visible injury, court records say.

Wright was in the Fayette Detention Center Tuesday under a $3,000 bond, jail records show.

Family: Mother was trying to protect child

Family members told WKYT, the Herald-Leader’s reporting partner, that Wright was trying to protect her child after the monitor first hit the child in the mouth.

Wright’s family told WKYT that Wright was “protecting her child,” saying it started after her daughter tried “helping her younger sister adjust in her seat after getting on the bus. The older daughter said “the bus monitor then slapped her in the mouth, and she called her mother, who came to the bus soon after.”

WKYT said it obtained a doctor’s note showing the child was evaluated for trauma suffered during her bus ride and found a slightly swollen inner lip.

Fayette County school officials said they are gathering information about the incident.

“Fayette County Public Schools is aware of the incident involving a parent and a bus monitor that occurred on April 16. The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority,” said district spokesperson Miranda Scully. “Any form of physical aggression toward school employees is taken very seriously and will not be tolerated.”

Scully said the district was “focused on gathering all relevant facts” and would address the issue while following district policy. Scully said parents are not permitted to board school buses in an effort to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone on board.

“We understand that families may occasionally have concerns about their child’s experience, and we encourage parents to report any issues through the appropriate channels,” Scully said. “To help us review concerns effectively, please report the specific details of what happened and when it occurred directly to your school’s administration or FCPS Transportation Department so they can be addressed promptly and appropriately.”