TAMPA, Fla. — A family is suing the Hillsborough County School District, alleging negligence after a school bus aide was accused of hitting her 9-year-old son, who has autism and is nonverbal.
Angelina Valdez filed the lawsuit against the school board on Oct. 21, seeking more than $50,000 in damages, according to the complaint.
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The lawsuit stems from an incident on Jan. 9, 2026, involving bus aide James Savage. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office arrested Savage on a child abuse charge, but the state later dropped the charge. The school district fired Savage.
The complaint alleges the school board failed to adequately supervise and protect the child, properly train employees and take precautions despite alleged prior misconduct involving school bus staff.
Mother says bus video documented incident
Valdez's son was a 9-year-old 4th grader when the incident occurred, and is now a 10-year-old 5th grader.
At the time, she said she became concerned when her son got off the bus and showed her his hand.
“He got right to the steps and immediately showed me his hand and said, ‘Ouch,’” Valdez said.
She described seeing a bright red handprint on his skin. She said her son identified the bus aide and that the school bus video captured the incident.
"Our son was hit multiple times. He was hit in the face with the aid by his hat. He was hit physically by his hands," Valdez said.
Valdez said the footage was especially important because her son is nonverbal and cannot easily explain what happened to him.
“I think they banked on my son not being able to communicate with me and tell me that something happened, and thankfully they were wrong,” Valdez said.
Lawsuit alleges school board failed to protect students
The complaint alleges the school board knew or should have known about concerns involving Savage before and during his employment.
It also alleges the district failed to take appropriate precautions, implement proper employee policies and adequately supervise staff assigned to students. The lawsuit includes claims of negligence and negligent hiring, retention and supervision.
Attorneys with the Francis & Pettis Law Firm are representing Valdez's family and said the case raises broader concerns about student safety on school buses.
"Mr. Savage was a 79-year-old gentleman that was hired to protect and keep these kids safe. And on that date in January of this year, he didn't do that. He did the opposite. Instead of being a caring and supportive person that's looking out for the well-being of Ms. Valdez's son, he hit him multiple times," Fletcher said.
The attorneys also pointed to another case involving a school bus driver and aide accused of abusing a child, arguing that the district needs to take greater accountability.
"And when the same thing happens to our most vulnerable people over and over again in the same system, on the same buses, that's not a failure of the system that's a failure of taking accountability by Hillsborough County School Board," Greg Francis said.
The school board said it could not comment on pending litigation.
Mother urges parents to watch for warning signs
Valdez also shared advice for parents of children who are nonverbal or may have difficulty communicating about a potentially harmful experience.
“If you have a child that's completely nonverbal, how would you know? Look for behavior patterns. You're not crazy to look on their bodies for marks,” Valdez said.
She encouraged parents to watch for changes in their children's behavior.
"Kids don't make up this kind of stuff. Their behavior changes, their approach changes, or either verbally they change. You have to pay attention and you have to believe your babies," Valdez said.
Valdez wants changes to bus camera monitoring
Valdez said she wants the school district to review how it monitors school bus cameras.
"When I met with a gentleman at the transportation site, he told me that due to manpower, those cameras are not monitored unless something is brought forth, so they're not monitored proactively, it's retroactively," Valdez said.
She said she believes random reviews of footage could help identify problems and prevent future incidents.
“There's no reason that those could not be, you know, randomly selected this day, this route, and have so many monitorings per month for each driver. That's what I would like to see,” Valdez said.
For Valdez, the goal is to help ensure other children — particularly those who may not be able to communicate what happened to them — are protected.
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