BUTLER TWP — A Butler School District bus driver pulled a dangerous maneuver and violated protocol Tuesday afternoon. He won't be transporting Butler students anymore.

The unnamed driver, an employee of Valley Lines, has been blacklisted by the district after he suddenly applied the brakes — a maneuver commonly called “brake-checking” — and caused some of the 45 to 50 middle-schoolers on the bus to fly out of their seats, Superintendent Brian White said Thursday.

The incident happened in downtown Butler as Bus 54 was taking middle school students home at the end of the school day. White said an investigation by school officials determined that the driver had tried verbal commands to quiet his passengers, some of whom were reportedly shouting and swearing at each other.

“There are protocols for discipline problems, and the driver did not follow them,” White said. “He should have pulled over and called administration, and a principal would have driven out to meet the bus. That didn't happen.”

Instead, the driver “abruptly stopped,” after turning off Main Street, White said, “with enough force that if a kid was sitting improperly, they could have been injured. And there probably were some kids who were out of control.”