FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The Poudre School District hopes policy changes will help repair broken trust between the district and parents after a paraprofessional was arrested on suspicion of assaulting six students with disabilities on board the district's buses, a spokesperson said.
Police arrested Tyler Zanella, 36, in May after reviewing footage from a school bus he was riding. The video showed Zanella hitting a child who has autism and is nonverbal, police said. Upon further investigation, six victims -- all with disabilities -- were identified, the police said.
Zanella was hired by Poudre Schools despite a prior conviction on a misdemeanor child abuse charge, 9Wants to Know learned.
"Our hearts, my heart, collectively hurts for everybody that was involved," district Chief Information Officer Madeline Noblett said. "That trust has been broken in our community, and that’s not something that we take lightly."
She said the district is examining a new policy to not hire people with certain misdemeanors or require them to be around other adults if they have direct contact with students. Noblett said the new policy is under review to ensure it complies with state and federal hiring guidelines.
"PSD, like other employers, cannot bar access to employment on the basis of some misdemeanor charges," she said, adding that the district's board of education has started contacting legislators to see if changes to existing law are possible.
Noblett said the district has changed other policies ahead of the start of the school year Aug. 17. Poudre Schools implemented new training for bus drivers and instructed them to call families of students on their routes who have special needs before the first day of school.
Transportation supervisors will now review at least one hour of footage from school bus cameras per week, with a special focus on routes with new employees and buses with students who have special needs.
In addition, PSD has worked with an external law firm, hired an HR consultancy firm and issued a request for a proposal for a third firm to review its transportation policies.
"We have been working to do everything we can possible to mitigate the risk of this ever happening again," Noblett said.
The district also changed its nepotism, staff conduct and conflicts of interest policies in response to the incidents.
Zanella's partner also worked within the transportation department of the district, Noblett said, but was not a supervisor and did not impede the inquiry into his conduct.
The district also has a new head of HR and a new director of its security department, though Noblett said the departures of the people who previously held those roles were unrelated to Zanella's arrest.
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