Three Parents Charged After Entering School Bus in Dahlonega

DAHLONEGA, Ga. — Three parents have been charged after authorities say they entered a school bus carrying Cottrell Elementary School students during a confrontation at a Dahlonega apartment complex Monday.

The incident unfolded Sept. 14 at Highland Trace Apartments on Hardman Drive, off Ga. 60, as bus 22-36 was delivering students home from Cottrell Elementary.

According to the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office, the bus stopped at the first of two designated stops within the apartment complex and allowed students assigned to that stop to exit.

A student assigned to the second stop also got off the bus but was told by the substitute driver to get back aboard, authorities said.

The driver then attempted to get the remaining students seated so the bus could continue to the second stop.

Authorities said adults approached the bus and demanded that additional children be released.

The substitute driver explained that students could only be released at their designated stops and that the bus could not proceed until the students were seated, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The confrontation then escalated.

Adults began communicating with students through the bus windows, and the Sheriff’s Office said student behavior also escalated. An anonymous source familiar with the incident said profanity was directed at the substitute driver by some of the elementary students.

Another school bus driver arrived and entered the bus to assist, according to authorities.

During the response, someone operated the bus’s emergency-release mechanism. A student then opened the bus door after observing how the mechanism worked, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Adults subsequently entered the occupied bus and removed children.

The Sheriff’s Office said it worked with the Lumpkin County School System to confirm that parents are not permitted to enter a school bus while it is transporting students without authorization from the driver.

Three people have been charged in connection with the incident. All three face charges of disrupting or interfering with the operation of a public school bus.

Two of the individuals also face disorderly conduct charges, and one faces a simple battery charge.

The confrontation quickly became the subject of widespread discussion on social media, with claims circulating that the substitute driver refused to let students off the bus and that children were kept aboard for more than 30 minutes without air conditioning.

The Sheriff’s Office disputed those claims based on its investigation.

According to authorities, the bus remained stopped at the apartment complex for approximately 14 to 16 minutes, rather than the more than 30 minutes alleged on social media.

Investigators also determined that the bus’s air conditioning was temporarily turned off while the vehicle climbed a steep section of nearby Alicia Lane. The air conditioning was turned back on immediately after the bus reached the top of the incline, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

No charges have been filed against the substitute driver.

The Lumpkin County School System said school administrators were present during the incident and were actively assisting.

“School administrators were on site and actively assisting throughout the situation. The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority,” the school system said in a statement Thursday.

The district said it is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident, including available video footage and information from people who were present.

The Sheriff’s Office said the investigation remains ongoing.