Charges will be filed against a Panther Valley School District bus driver following an incident last month in which nearly two dozen middle school students were sent home after their school bus was suddenly stopped while in Summit Hill.

Contacted this morning, Summit Hill Police Chief Joe Fittos said that "charges are forthcoming against a Panther Valley School District bus driver pending the results of further investigation."District Superintendent Dennis Kergick also said this morning that the bus driver was relieved of her duties."Our desire was to not prolong anything and deal with the facts of the matter as they were presented, and services were no longer required," Kergick said. "Student safety is paramount for any school district."The incident occurred at 8 a.m. March 12, at which time the Panther Valley Middle School students were sent home after their Kistler Transportation school bus was suddenly stopped.Kergick said that the bus for some reason came to an abrupt stop, and some of the kids were banged around. Some complained about possible injuries.Parents said at the time that they believed the woman deliberately hit the brakes when her students got loud.School district nurses examined each student, 17 who said they had bumped their heads or faces on seats, one on a window, another had abrasions on an elbow, four said they had been jolted forward and backward, Kergick said. One girl had a bruise on her cheek, he said.In all, 23 students were sent home and their parents were called. The district also took statements from the students.Kergick declined to release information about the bus driver.The district is under contract with Kistler Transportation for bus service, he said.Kergick said the company's drivers are required to pass background checks because they are in contact with children.Initially, Kergick said there may have been a video camera operating on the bus. The buses switch out active and dummy cameras, and he was not sure which was on the bus involved.The video camera was not activated at that particular time, Kergick said this morning.Chris Parker alsocontributed to this report.