Bus Behavior Called Out Of Control

A Texas school-bus driver is out of a job - after some of her passengers allegedly abused other students.

Fort Worth school officials fired Cynthia Fowler after they saw security camera video that they say showed the middle-school boys punching, groping and simulating sex acts with young girls on the bus.

Seven students have been suspended and a judge has ordered four boys - ages 12 to 14 - to stay in juvenile custody pending an investigation into possible child indecency charges.

The mother of two of the boys in custody says she saw the tape and she didn't see the sexual activity the school district described.

School officials say a driver is supposed to stop the bus and call a schools safety officer if a situation gets out of hand, CBS affiliate KTVT-TV in Dallas reports. Bus drivers say that with 377 buses on the road, it is hard to get a safety officer.

Jackie Kirkland, who represents the bus drivers, says the only way to eliminate these incidents is to station a second adult on each bus.

The incident took place in Sept. 15 aboard a bus from Forest Oak Middle School and was captured on a security camera mounted at the front of the bus. The driver did not report the incident until the next day and top school officials say they were not notified for almost a week.

"I saw incidents of assault. I saw instances of behavior which clearly to me constituted sexual harassment, and perhaps beyond sexual harassment," said school superintendent Thomas Tocco.

He said the bus driver seemed oblivious at first and then appeared to disregard the incident.

The district attorney's office, which has refused to release the tape, said it is taking the allegations very seriously.

"It should have been stopped before it started," said the mother of one of the victims. "It should have been stopped at the horse playing."