CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A bus driver for Chesapeake Public Schools (CPS), who was asked to resign in connection with a Facebook video showing students, has been reinstated.
Jessica Flowers confirmed to WTKR Chesapeake reporter Erin Holly that the school system has reinstated her on Thursday during a private meeting with supervisors at the school administration building.
“If I never would’ve spoke out, I would’ve never been heard, and I would’ve been out of a job. So, I am grateful that you know, I received my job back," Flowers said.
This all started when Flowers posted a video to her personal Facebook page that shows her doing a variety of handshakes with students. Each handshake was unique, and in the video, Flowers appears to remember the cadence of each student's motions.
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In the original video that was posted, students' faces were not covered; however, Flowers has maintained that their parents had granted permission for her to post it. Later versions circulated online used emojis and colored hearts to cover faces.
After the video was posted to Flowers' Facebook page, she was pulled into the office with school administrators and was told she was terminated. She immediately took out her phone and offered to delete the video, but she said an administrator told her they have a "zero tolerance policy for posting kids on Facebook."
Then, she was given the option to resign or be fired, Flowers said. She resigned.
Local attorney Tim Anderson shared that he had taken Flowers' case pro bono and made a post to his Facebook page Tuesday night to share the news. Anderson shared that CPS was looking into reinstating Flowers.
Earlier this week, Flowers said it was not clear whether she will return to her bus route. On Thursday in her meeting with Chesapeake Public Schools administration, she found out she will not return to the same bus route she previously had.
"I didn’t receive my route back, but I do still have three tiers, that means three different routes," Flowers said.
Later Thursday, CPS released a statement about Flowers' reinstatement:
After a thorough review of the details related to this matter, the Superintendent supported the reinstatement. Specific details will not be provided as this is a personnel matter.
Chesapeake Public Schools recognizes that this matter raised concerns that required careful attention. While the division is within its rights to pursue termination of any employee who violates School Board policies, we believe in second chances. It is clear that this employee cares about building positive relationships with students and values her role as a bus driver with CPS.
Flowers told News 3 that she is thrilled to have her job back, and she will complete trainings on district policies before she returns to work on Monday.
"Most exciting thing for me returning back to my job is to be able to share the love, and the passion that I have for kids, to be able to uplift somebody’s morning. My mission is to be able to uplift, give them a bright smile in the morning so that they can have a bright day," Flowers said.
