Does the district have the right to skip steps on the Progressive discipline process? Should anyone else be disciplined is this case according to policy if so what is appropriate discipline?

CASE STUDY

A teacher of special needs transports5 students to a local grocery store as part of work training for special needs students transitioning to adult life. The teacher has a bus license and drives students using the school activity bus.the teacher is accompanied by a paraprofessional. After the bus returns to school the teacher paraprofessional and students go back to class after an hour the teacher discovers one of the students is missing and realizes she did not account for this child when returning to school. She gets coverage for her class and drives back to grocery store to try and find child.After another 2 hours she notifies administration of occurrence. Child is found by the Sheriff a mile from the store walking on the side of the road. Parents file a lawsuit against district for neglect. Investigation finds teacher neglectful in duties and endangered child. She is terminated. She has 22 years of successful teaching with no previous problems. The union grieves decision saying the district failed to follow Progressive discipline and teacher not receive discipline. Based on (Greenville Mississippi school district policy GPSD WILL DISTRICT prevail? Does the district have the right to skip steps on the Progressive discipline process? Should anyone else be disciplined is this case according to policy if so what is appropriate discipline 5-8pages not counting reference and title page 7 citations in the narrative APA REFERENCES OVER Y YEARS OLD