Najmah Nash, the mother of Fajr Atiya Williams, the 6-year-old with special needs who died because a school bus aide was not attending to her, wants to maintain her child’s memory by pushing for what she’s calling Fajr’s Law.
Nash has started a petition on Change.org that calls for new safety measures and regulations for New Jersey school bus aides and drivers: She’s looking to ensure that other families won’t have to suffer the loss of a child due to this kind of neglect.
“Fajr’s Law seeks to implement comprehensive safety measures for all students, particularly those with special needs, traveling on school buses,” a press release about the proposed new law states. “It will include stricter regulations on bus aides’ use of electronic devices during work hours, enhanced training programs for drivers and attendants to address the unique needs of special education students, and regular inspections of safety equipment on school buses to prevent malfunctions that could endanger students’ lives. In the name of justice, safety of transportation, and equality amongst special education students and all abled-bodied students worldwide!”
Fajr, the daughter of Nash and Wali Williams, died after being choked by a safety harness during a school bus ride on July 17. Williams was attending an extended school program at Claremont Elementary School. Her bus monitor, Amanda Davila, had strapped her into a seat with a four-point safety harness for her ride to school. As the bus drove down a bumpy road, the harness re-adjusted and ended up tightening around Fajr’s neck. The child had a chromosomal disorder known as Emanuel syndrome or ESA (Emanuel Syndrome Awareness) and was nonverbal; yet, cameras in the bus captured Fajr fighting for her life in the back of the bus while Davila was seated in the front, earbuds in while she perused apps on her cellphone.
The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office stated, in a July 20, press release that their “investigation revealed that this was in violation of policies and procedures.” Davila, a seven-year employee of the Montauk Transit LLC bus company, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
But Nash is questioning the thoroughness of New Jersey’s policies and procedures for school bus employees.
“What I’m proposing is for, first, the Board of Education to fully vet these transportation companies that they’re awarding contracts to, as well as that they are transparent with the parents of the children that will be bussed by the companies they choose. At the least, the parents should be a part of the process and the discussions before contracts are awarded. And what I mean by full transparency is just keeping us up to date with what’s going on with the process.
“The Board should do full training courses for all the drivers and the aides according to the statutes. But also––in addition––the drivers and aides should each be trained in CPR and have current certifications on file for good record keeping that they can always, you know, go back to for future use.”
The current administrative code regarding training for school bus drivers and bus aides, N.J.A.C. 6A:27-11.3, only appears to require that they have training in student management and discipline, know bus accident and emergency exit procedures, and understand bus loading and unloading procedures. Under N.J.S.A. 18A:39-19.2, which covers guidelines for interacting with students with special needs, transportation workers are only required to know that when transporting students in wheelchairs on a bus, “restraints that may be necessary could include a three-point seat belt, harness/safety vest or a car seat for children who are small in order to keep them safe while transporting the student to and from school. You need to know how to get students in and out of these types of equipment.”
There does not appear to be any requirement for transportation workers to be able to provide any medical assistance. Adding that extra skillset might call for an increase in salaries for bus transportation workers, to which Nash insists, “If that’s what’s needed for kids to be safe, I don’t see the problem. They need to get it done.”
Nash told the AmNews that she has reached out to the offices of Senator Cory Booker, Gov. Phil Murphy, Franklin Township Mayor Phillip Kramer, and the New Jersey Department of Education regarding her Fajr’s Law proposal but has not had any response. In fact, no one from any of the named offices has even contacted her family to express condolences about the loss of her child.
The AmNews has also reached out to the offices Nash tried to contact, and so far, only the New Jersey Department of Education has promised to respond to our questions, but they were unable to respond by deadline.
Najmah Nash recalls that on July 17, the bus aide, Davila, and the bus driver were relatively new workers on Fajr’s summer program route. She noted that they arrived and just seemed focused on the mechanics of doing their job. “They didn’t interact much with my daughter at all. Which, unfortunately, isn’t anything new to us. A lot of times, you know, they don’t interact with the children, or they will barely interact with you: It’s like it’s forced.
“I’m just that type of mom where I’m engaging and making eye contact and saying good morning. I let them see me engage with my daughter and talked with her the entire time as they were loading her on the wheelchair lift, so they can see that even though she’s nonverbal, you can still talk to her and she responds to that.”
The push for Fajr’s Law will be coordinated under an organization called the Fajr Movement ESA and will be an effort to help fund research about the genetic disorder.