A bus driver who was working in the Islip School District has been arrested on charges of having sexual contact with a child under the age of 13.

Parents were informed of the arrest through a letter issued on Wednesday by Superintendent Dennis O’Hara. In the letter, O’Hara stated that the driver was immediately removed from service by Suffolk Transportation Service, the district’s contracted bus company, upon learning of the allegations and arrest.

"This individual was removed from service as soon as our transportation provider learned of the allegations and arrest. He will not return to our district," the letter read. "At this time, we have no information indicating that any students in our district were involved in the charges."

The driver, whose name has not been released to the public, had only been working in the Islip School District for a short time. He operated a single bus route from the first day of school through Sept. 22 — a total of 14 school days.

Thomas Smith, chief operating officer of Suffolk Transportation Service, emphasized that the driver passed all pre-employment screenings.

“We went through our process that we do with every employee that works for our organization and nothing would lead us to a problematic employee,” Smith said.

When asked if the background check came up clean, Smith responded, “Yes.”

According to the school district, those background checks include screenings against the sex offender registry, fingerprint-based checks, and drug and alcohol testing.

Despite these procedures, the arrest has left parents shaken.

“It’s super concerning as a parent,” added Jennifer Bambino, another Islip resident. “They’ve got to get better background checks for stuff like this.”