ZACHARY — The Zachary Community School District and the school bus company it contracts with are in a legal disagreement over who is liable after a middle school student said she was sexually attacked by classmates on a school bus.

The girl's parents sued both the Zachary school district and First Student, the company contracted to operate school buses for the district. The lawsuit, filed in May 2024, claims that the girl was attacked on the way home from school after months of bullying from other students, and that a bus driver employed by First Student was present during the alleged attack. 

However, the bus company filed a motion arguing that it is not responsible for the incident, citing a line in its contract with Zachary that absolves it of liability in instances of "student-on-student violence." 

Zachary schools argued that, because the contract does not specifically define "student-on-student violence," First Student's motion is premature until the court determines whether the alleged attack qualifies as student-on-student violence. The school district also said the bus company is liable because the students were in the bus driver's custody at the time of the incident.

In response, First Student accused the school district of understating the violence of the incident. 

"As expected, Zachary brazenly downplays those activities as potentially 'non-violent," the bus company argued in a court filing. 

On Thursday, the Zachary Community School District filed a motion asking the judge to deny First Student's initial motion and confirm that the bus company is, in fact, liable.