OXFORD – The mother of a first-grader who was inappropriately touched on the school bus wants developmentally disabled adults with escorts to act as monitors on elementary school buses.

Deborah Walo of Oxford will present her plan to SAD 17 Superintendent Mark Eastman next week.

“The clients interested are very capable of doing this,” Walo said. “Instead of one person, there will be two or three on the buses.” She is also working with state legislators and others to launch the program statewide in the future, she said.

Eastman, who is set to meet with Walo on May 20, said he would have to see the plan before he could evaluate it or comment on it.

Walo’s proposal is to use one or two adults with developmental disabilities from the Norway-based Progress Center and a staff member on as many elementary school buses as possible through the end of the school year. The staff members would be paid by the Progress Center or another agency and would come at no cost to the school district, Walo said.

The nonprofit center, which has been in operation for more than 30 years, works with clients who are developmentally disabled – a broad term that describes anything from autism to mental retardation.

Superintendent Eastman said volunteer bus monitors would be subject to the district’s volunteer guidelines and training policies, which include a criminal history records check.

Last month, Eastman said an investigation into alleged inappropriate touching of the student revealed that a second-grader did touch the girl outside of her clothes during what he described as a “tickling game” during the 10-minute ride from the Oxford Elementary School to her bus stop on Skeetfield Road.

The incident prompted Walo to initiate the plan to furnish the school buses with monitors after school officials said the district budget did not have funding to support additional personnel.

Deb Anthony, executive director of the Progress Center, said Monday that she is looking at the opportunity as another chance for clients who wish to volunteer.

“We look for any volunteer experiences we can get. We’re excited about this,” said Anthony, who will attend the meeting with Eastman and Walo.