Jamewsville, N.Y. - A Jamesville-DeWitt school bus driver who sued to get her job back after she was fired for slapping a special-needs student has won her appeal.
Patricia Ansley fought to be reinstated to her job with back pay and benefits.
An appellate court ruled in her favor saying the district needs to come up with a less severe penalty.
The incident involved a 9-year-old male student with special needs who refused to board the bus. A school social worker, said the student became aggressive, and started kicking, hitting Ansley in the chest thats when she raised her arm and struck the child in the face.
The court said that “the harsh penalty of termination was disproportionate and shocking to our sense of fairness."
(Getty Images)