BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The Bellingham School District has responded to a lawsuit filed by parents of a student who they claim was sexually assaulted on a school bus.

Attorneys for the district filed a response to the suit on Thursday, nearly a month after it was filed in Whatcom County Superior Court. Court documents state that the district has either denied knowledge of or refuted all the claims brought forth by the victims’ parents.

A Title IX investigation into the assaults was also referenced in the district’s response, which the district said “speaks for itself.”

The lawsuit claims that the autistic 10-year-old Wade King Elementary student was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a 9-year-old male student while on their school bus in spring 2023.

The student’s parents have alleged that the district did not take any appropriate action.

At the time the lawsuit was filed, BPS Superintendent Greg Baker said that the district takes its duty to protect and care for its students seriously.