It's looking like this Christmas won't be very merry for a (now) former school bus driver from Pennsylvania, who recently was fired from her job after posting a sign on her bus requesting that students speak only in English. The driver, Diane Crawford, 66, says she resorted to hanging the sign after a troublemaking bilingual student spoke only in Spanish while causing disruptions on the bus, and, as a result of the sign, she's been let go by the Juniata County School District for "racial insensitivity."
Here's what the sign said: “Out of respect to English-only students, there will be no speaking Spanish on this bus.” Crawford, who has driven for Juniata County schools for more than three decades, says she didn't mean any harm by it.
“I didn’t mean to be racially insensitive or anything like that,” Crawford said. “Maybe I should have worded it (differently). Maybe it should have said, ‘No bullying in any language,’ but I didn’t mean it to be anything but to correct him.”
Crawford, who owns the bus and was subcontracted to work in Juniata County by the Rohrer Bus company, was called the night she posted the sign and told by the bus company that her contract had been terminated. “I think I just instantly went into shock,” she said.
Officials said Crawford's action did not their meet standards for providers of student transportation. The bus driver took responsibility for posting the sign, but apparently it was too late and the decision to sack her was made.
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“While initial communications referenced a suspension pending investigation, the matter progressed quickly once the written statement was received, and a final decision was made without delay,” school and bus officials said in a joint statement. “Juniata County School District and Rohrer Bus stand by the decision made in this matter and remain committed to providing a safe and inclusive transportation environment for all students."
A school bus driver in Pennsylvania was fired for putting up a sign asking students to speak English
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 22, 2025
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It sounds like the bilingual child in question was a real pill. According to Crawford – who doesn't speak Spanish, but understands some words – she heard the student using the word "gordo" to describe someone on the bus, possibly her. "Gordo" means "fat" in Spanish.
“I didn’t know if he was bullying somebody, telling them to do something that they shouldn’t do,” Crawford said. “I thought I heard him saying ‘Gordo’ and — I understand some of (the words) — I don’t know who he was talking to, but I assume he is directing at me.”
Diane Crawford now finds herself relying on Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP benefits to get by. That's not all: “I had to go on antidepressants because of this,” she revealed.
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