Washington district admits liability in sexual assault case involving school bus ride

In a reversal from previous statements, a Washington school district has admitted liability for negligence and “any and all damages” associated with a school bus sexual assault case.

The lawsuit, filed against Bellingham Public Schools in June 2024, involved a family whose son was sexually assaulted in the spring of 2023, according to the Cascadia Daily News.

The alleged perpetrator was 9 years old and the defendant 10 when the lawsuit was filed, journalists reported.

“The perpetrator, identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, allegedly sexually assaulted at least three children at the time the lawsuit was filed.”

‘Defendant District did nothing’

This “documented history of assaulting students on the school bus” dating back to October 2022 proves the district failed in its responsibility for protecting children, plaintiffs argued.

“At a minimum, the offending student should have been removed from the bus indefinitely, to both control his dangerous propensities and to protect other students,” the lawsuit concluded. “But remarkably, Defendant District did nothing. Two credible sexual assaults by two young boys were reported, and the District did nothing.”

The trial is set for July 14, according to the news article.

Several sexual harassment and assault lawsuits have been filed against the district, which enrolls over 11,000 students.

“Three administrators faced criminal charges for failing to report the sexual assault of a Squalicum High School student; the charges were dismissed with an acknowledgment that they should have reported the incident,” the Cascadia Daily News reported concerning a case filed in 2023. “The victim of the sexual assault also filed and settled a federal lawsuit against the district.”

More recently, a 2025 lawsuit involved an Options High School student, who accused the district of negligence and Title IX violations after being sexually harassed by a peer.

“That lawsuit was also settled, but an associated complaint to the state resulted in a range of changes to the district’s sexual harassment response, mandated by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction,” the news outlet wrote.

Another recent case of sexual assault on a school bus comes from Kansas.

Officials said the assault was recorded by a security camera and showed a school bus aide engaging in “lewd fondling or touching of a child,” according to an affidavit. The aide was arrested two days after the incident.