A family in the Laurentians has won a $6,500 settlement from a school board after a 10-year old autistic girl was left out outside in minus 20 degree weather.
Last December, little Francesca was dropped off at her school in Sainte Agathe by her bus, but there was no one there to meet her as usual and guide her inside. Because the bus was late, the girl's teacher assumed she was staying home that day.
In addition to being autistic, the girl is non-verbal.
The bus drove off, and she was left shivering until an arriving employee spotted her near the school 90 minutes later. By that time she was in tears, her cheeks red and her hands very cold.
Fresh off this legal win with their claim against the Commission Scolaire des Laurentides, her parents are now preparing a lawsuit against the bus company.