Why did PSD hire a bus attendant with record of child abuse? Here's what we know about case

Poudre School District said it thoroughly reviewed an arrest record for a misdemeanor child-abuse case in 2012 before hiring a paraprofessional bus attendant who now faces nearly 130 charges for assaults, child abuse and harassment alleged to have occurred during his employment with the district.

“In following applicable laws and standard employment practices, there was no reason to deny Mr. Tyler Zanella employment,” PSD spokesperson Madeline Noblett wrote in an emailed response Friday evening to a series of questions asked Thursday by the Coloradoan.

PSD is now working with an external party to conduct an independent review, Superintendent Brian Kingsley said in an emailed statement.

Zanella, 36, was arrested May 24 on multiple charges, including third-degree felony assault, after Fort Collins police reviewed video surveillance of his interactions with an at-risk kindergarten student on a PSD bus on three different occasions. He was suspended when the investigation began May 23, PSD spokesperson Emily Shockley said, and fired May 24.

Additional charges were announced Wednesday, alleging assaults of five other students who police determined to be at-risk based on their disabilities.

Zanella faces these charges from the District Attorney's Office for the 8th Judicial District:

• 30 counts of third-degree assault against an at-risk person, a Class 6 felony.

• 49 counts of misdemeanor child abuse.

• 49 counts of misdemeanor harassment.

His next court date is Tuesday, June 6.

“Like members of our community, we are appalled by these events,” Kingsley said. “Those of us who work in public education dedicate ourselves to our communities’ students, and it is infuriating and heartbreaking that someone would break this sacred trust with our children and families.”

What led to the 2012 child-abuse case?

Zanella pleaded guilty Jan. 11, 2012, to a misdemeanor charge of negligent child abuse arising out of a case in Adams County, where records show he was living at the time. He was sentenced to 18 months’ probation that was later reduced to 13, court records show.

The victim, who was not physically harmed, was an infant child Zanella was caring for while the child’s mother was at work on Jan. 3, 2012, Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputies wrote in an incident report obtained Friday by the Coloradoan.

The mother came home from work and contacted law enforcement for assistance after discovering Zanella was “really drunk,” a deputy wrote, causing problems and needed to go to a detoxification center. Her child was sleeping in a swing, with a heavily soiled, leaking diaper that had obviously not been changed for a while when the mother returned home, she told deputies. She was concerned Zanella had left the child home alone before hearing a shower running upstairs. When he came downstairs, he was obviously drunk, she told deputies.

Zanella admitted to deputies that he had been drinking, they reported, but declined to take a portable breath test. He asked for his attorney at that point and was taken to the Adams County Detention Center.

He was originally charged with two counts of misdemeanor child abuse, but the more serious charge – a Class 3 misdemeanor of knowing or reckless negligence resulting in bodily injury – was dismissed by the district attorney for the 17th Judicial District, court records show. The negligent child-abuse charge resulting in no injury that he pleaded guilty to is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

A protective order also was issued by the court, requiring Zanella to move out of the home.

Why did Poudre School District hire someone who had pleaded guilty to child abuse?

Although felony child abuse is one of several offenses that automatically disqualify an individual from obtaining or retaining a teaching license, Colorado Department of Education regulations call for a “case-by-case” evaluation of the circumstances surrounding a conviction for misdemeanor child abuse.

Paraprofessionals working in schools are not licensed by the state, so hiring practices are up to individual school districts. PSD “follows standard employment practices, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and laws, including Colorado Senate Bill 22-099,” which calls for the sealing of records after four, seven or 10 years, based on the offense’s severity, after the final disposition for certain nonviolent offenses, Noblett wrote.

“It is our practice to always ask about a child-related conviction or guilty plea, no matter how long ago it took place,” she wrote.

She wasn’t able to say whether or not the district has other employees with misdemeanor child-abuse convictions or guilty pleas on their record or what other misdemeanor offenses its employees might have been found to have committed.

“We look at convictions and consider the severity of the offense(s), how recently the offense(s) occurred and frequency,” she wrote. “This is in line with employment standards.”

Background checks for all employees, Noblett wrote, are “thoroughly reviewed” before they are hired.

District officials obtained the incident report from Zanella’s 2012 arrest and questioned him about it during the hiring process, PSD spokesperson Emily Shockley wrote in a previous emailed response to Coloradoan questions. After verifying that his explanation of events matched those on the incident report, a decision was made to hire him as a paraprofessional bus attendant to assist bus drivers on routes where they are needed or required by federal law under a student’s individualized transportation plan.

PSD has 34 paraprofessionals serving students on buses, plus cameras

PSD has 34 paraprofessional bus attendants, who work under the supervision of a transportation supervisor and not the bus driver, and 350 students with individualized transportation plans, Noblett wrote. About 8,500 students in all ride PSD buses to and from school each day.

All PSD buses are equipped with a minimum of four cameras – one in front pointing back, one in the back pointing front, one at mid-bus and one on the left side near the driver, pointing at the door. They record both audio and video, she wrote. District policy requires video footage from all of the district’s transportation department vehicles, including buses, to be maintained for a minimum of three school days. Depending on the age of the technology on a particular school bus, video on some is maintained for longer periods of time.

What prompted staff to review the video that led to these charges?

PSD reviewed surveillance video from the bus serving route No. 2253 following a complaint by a parent the evening of May 22 that Zanella had made an inappropriate comment that day,” Noblett wrote.

“It was during that review of footage (the following morning) that suspected physical abuse was found on camera, prompting the district to review all available footage of Mr. Zanella on buses, record clips of misconduct and send them to police,” she wrote.

PSD staff notified police immediately after seeing the first clip of suspected physical abuse, she said. Zanella was immediately placed on leave while additional footage was reviewed and fired the following day.

“All available footage of Mr. Zanella was reviewed by PSD transportation staff May 23-29 and immediately shared with law enforcement as part of the investigation,” Noblett wrote.

No bus drivers reported any incidents involving Zanella to PSD or law enforcement, she wrote.

“Although we followed laws and employment practices for Mr. Tyler Zanella’s hiring, an external party is conducting an independent review of the situation,” Kingsley wrote. “District staff will also continue to support any investigation by law enforcement.”

Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, twitter.com/KellyLyell or facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: PSD explains hiring of bus attendant convicted of child abuse