Was my father wrongfully terminated under duress to resign to avoid possible jail time?

My father was fired from his job some time ago for leaving a child on the bus all day until school dismissal.

He has gotten newspaper articles written about nice things, praising him for jobs well done. Then one day, he and a chaperone on the bus somehow missed a child on the bus.

My father drives the special bus. The report says that child was strapped all day & did not wet themselves. I believe the child may have been planted there to look like they were left there all day. My father has an article in the Longview News Journal praising him for jobs well done.

He was also close to retiring.

Was Gladewater Independent School District wrong for having him resign to avoid the risk of doing jail time?