Was Diane Crawford school bus driver ‘unfairly’ fired by Juniata school district in Pennsylvania over ‘English Only’ speaking sign? A victim of DEI woke policies? Or had her message taken out of context?
A school bus driver in Pennsylvania who was fired earlier this year for posting a ‘no speaking Spanish’ sign during her school routes is seeking compensation from the school district.
Diane Crawford, 66, was fired from Juniata County School District after posting a sign on her bus that banned bilingual students from speaking Spanish.
‘Out of respect to English-only students, there will be no speaking Spanish on this bus,’ the handwritten note read. It was signed by ‘ownership/management.’
Long time school bus driver fired over ‘Only English’ sign
The note which was posted anonymously led to an investigation by the school district. Crawford was subsequently fired on February 1, a week after she posted the sign.
The sacking left the bus driver who had driven for the school district for over 30 years blindsided.
A self-employed owner/operator, Crawford was subcontracted by Rohrer Bus to serve the Juniata County School District 12 years ago.
After ten months of silence Crawford decided to address the incident as she now seeks financial redress.
‘I didn’t mean to be racially insensitive or anything like that,‘ she told CBS 21 on December 18.
The note was directed at one bilingual student who reportedly had a history of ‘riling up’ other kids, Crawford told the outlet.
‘I didn’t know if he was bullying somebody, telling them to do something they shouldn’t do,’ Crawford added.
‘Maybe it should have said, “No bullying in any language,” but I didn’t mean it to be anything but to correct him.’
School bus driver claims she was unfairly fired
At the time, the county claimed to have suspended her as a ‘precautionary measure’ while they investigated. Crawford claimed she had never been suspended, and there was never an investigation.
‘I would like them to admit that they were wrong,’ she said she is asking for $30,000 to cover her losses. ‘I don’t want to be in debt because what they did was wrong.’
Crawford bought her bus in 2024 after being subcontracted for the route by Rohrer Buses for almost 12 years.
‘I don’t know what else to do. I’m on Medicare and Medicaid now and SNAP,’ she said to CBS 21. ‘I had to go on antidepressants because of this.’
‘I dedicated everything I had to driving the bus,’ Crawford further stated. ‘And it was for the kids I loved the kids.’
Department of Justice to now investigate whether the firing was legal?
Rohrer Buses and Juniata County responded to Crawford’s claims on Thursday.
The agencies said Crawford’s ‘conduct did not align with the standards and expectations for student transportation providers.’
‘Juniata County School District and Rohrer Bus stand by the decision made in this matter and remain committed to providing a safe and inclusive transportation environment for all students,’ they wrote.
After Crawford was fired, the district conducted professional training for all transportation providers in April.
‘This training focused on employer responsibilities, professional expectations, student equity, and appropriate response protocols,’ it said.
Ninety four percent of people living in Juniata County are white, according to US Census data. Just over 900 residents are Hispanic or Latino.
The Civil Rights branch of the Department of Justice (DOJ) come Monday announced it will be looking into the school bus driver’s firing and whether it was lawful, and whether Crawford’s firing was linked to alleged woke DEI measures.
