Despite the Edmonton Catholic School District claiming students involved in a shocking case of bullying and harassment recorded on an Edmonton school bus were being dealt with by the school, one parent says she only found out her son was being bullied when she saw the footage on the news.

"When there is an issue about bullying, I feel I should have been told about this," said Angie, who withheld her last name to protect her son. "Is that an unreal expectation?"

She says the principal only called her after the Edmonton Sun contacted the school board to inquire as to why she was not notified.

Footage of an incident on a school bus on May 25 caught one student repeatedly kicking another student sitting across the aisle from him while mouthing off and flipping his middle finger at the bus driver -- the driver then kicked the boy off the bus less than 10 blocks before his stop -- and another student hitting the bus driver in the face with his hockey bag. The district initially called for the bus driver to be fired but after finally watching his dash-cam video, offered an apology.

Angie says she has voiced her concerns with students being out of control on the bus to the transportation safety officer at the ECSD in the past.

"It's an ongoing issue on the bus, kids are doing this all the time," Angie said, adding, "it's almost a daily occurrence."

Angie admits that her son -- a Grade 3 student who just turned 9 -- who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has played his own part in the misbehaviour on that bus, but says because of his behavioural problems he is often blamed in cases where he is actually the victim.

"Because of his behavioural issues, I don't have a voice," Angie said, adding that while she does not feel safe sending her child alone on the bus, she has little choice as her job forces her to work long hours, sometimes out of the city.

She says her son has been working with counsellors to improve his behaviour, but says her son doesn't even bother telling her about the bullying he has been experiencing on a daily basis anymore -- aside from the days when he comes home in tears -- for fear that he will be the one who gets into trouble.

"The only behaviour that's changed is my son's behaviour," Angie said, adding she wants the schools to play a larger role in taking action proactively and giving bus drivers the resources they need to handle these situations, rather than leaving parents to sort out these issues after the fact.

David Eggen, Alberta's minister of education, said, "the whole incident was very disturbing and spoke to a need to review safety on buses, specifically to this incident and in general, both for the sake of children and for the workers."

A spokesperson for the ECSD said they would not comment on the matter beyond the written apology issued Tuesday, aside from confirming that assistant superintendent Boris Radyo has apologized to the bus driver in a phone call after the board originally called for him to be fired.

A spokesperson for Cunningham Transport Ltd. said they have not yet heard whether the driver will be allowed to drive routes for the ECSD, as it was not addressed in their apology.

Brookes Merritt, a spokesperson for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), confirmed that workers in Alberta have the right to refuse unsafe work without penalty from their employer, and that laws outlined by OHS trump any other workplace policies.

While OHS is not currently investigating the case, Merrit said, "whenever there appears to be an incident of violence in the workplace, we are concerned about it and we would be remiss not to investigate."

@ClaireTheobald

claire.theobald@sunmedia.ca