Bellingham Public Schools denies liability in response to bus assault lawsuit
Bellingham Public Schools denied liability for their alleged role in the sexual assault of a deaf student on one of the district’s school buses last year.
The initial lawsuit, filed June 18 in Whatcom County Superior Court, accuses both the Blaine and Bellingham school districts of negligence, discrimination and violation of the Equal Educational Opportunity Law. According to the parents of the student, the girl was assaulted on a Blaine School District bus during the 2020-2021 school year, but the district never investigated the incident.
The girl was then assaulted again on a bus on her way to Salish Sea Deaf School in September, court documents allege. The bus was operated by Bellingham Public Schools, and also provided transportation to Fairhaven Middle School students along the route.
In a court filing signed Tuesday, Bellingham Public Schools admitted that a middle school student moved to sit next to the girl on the bus, but denied allegations that he touched her inappropriately. The district also admitted that the girl screamed, and the bus driver intervened; that the district’s director of transportation informed the parents about the incident; and that the Bellingham Police Department conducted a criminal investigation.
The same student had previously sexually assaulted students on the bus as recently as June 2025, according to the lawsuit, and the court entered an order requiring a safety plan before he could return to school. The district denied allegations that no plan was ever put in place.
The district also stated that the reason they did not conduct an investigation following the alleged assault in September, as referenced in the complaint, was because the plaintiff chose not to have the district conduct a Title IX investigation.
Bellingham Public Schools has requested that the case be dismissed with prejudice. Blaine School District has not yet filed a response to the complaint.
The Bellingham Herald reached out to the school district for comment and is awaiting a response.