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Last updated on Friday, August 10, 2012
(INDIANAPOLI) - A Wayne Township Schools bus driver has been placed on leave after accusations she engaged in inappropriate communication with a student, school officials said.
Te'Amo Angel Taylor was suspended without pay after allegations she had improper communication with a Ben Davis High School student on Facebook over the summer, said district spokeswoman Mary Lang.
The mother of a student at Ben Davis came forward with the allegations Wednesday afternoon.
School officials met first thing Thursday morning with the mother and student, and then decided that law enforcement needed to get involved.
"(We) had a lengthy conversation with both the mother and the student, and it was during that process that we determined it was time to bring in IMPD," Mary Lang, with Wayne Township, told RTV6's Drew Smith.
Lang said they were very concerned by what they learned and that Wayne Township is in the process of developing social media guidelines for students and staff.
"Currently when we look at interactions between district employees and students, we have sort of an overall standard of what's appropriate and what's not, and much of that is guided by common sense," Lang said.
Erik Deckers is a social media expert and the author of two books on the topic. He said parents need to be more vigilant when it comes to teenagers using social media, Facebook in particular.
"Have a couple of ground rules," Deckers said. "You can only use the computer, say, between 6 and 8 o'clock or for two hours after dinner. The computer has to be in a public place, not in the child's room."
Ben Davis parent Leland Weigel thinks Deckers is spot on.
"I really think the parents need to be stepping in and controlling this more than anything else," Weigel said.
Lang said it's important for the staff and students to communicate, but there is no tolerance for this type of thing.
"There's a point though where the interaction goes beyond what it should be, and that's something we just won't tolerate," Lang said.
Police said Taylor does not have a record. School leaders filed a report with the state's Department of Child Services, and they will ask the school board to fire Taylor at their next meeting on Aug. 20.
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