Parent says nonverbal student was left on White County school bus; board to revisit transportation protocols
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Summary
At the Dec. 11 White County Board of Education meeting, Karen Stafford described her nonverbal autistic kindergartner being left on a school bus and not being notified. The board acknowledged human error, said disciplinary steps were taken and voted to review transportation procedures and follow up with the family.
Karen Stafford, the grandmother and parent of a nonverbal autistic kindergartner, told the White County Board of Education on Dec. 11 that her grandchild was forgotten on a school bus and not discovered until the vehicle reached the bus yard.
"Recently, my child was forgotten on the bus, and not discovered until the bus reached the bus yard," Stafford said. She added that she received no notification from transportation staff, the school, or district officials and that her grandchild, who cannot speak or call for help, was legally vulnerable while left unattended.
Stafford asked the board to adopt specific safeguards for special‑needs riders: clipboard or roster verification for boarding and disembarking, immediate parent contact when a child is found on a bus, automatic written incident reports to administration and parents, stricter accountability for drivers and attendants, and additional training focused on students with disabilities.
Board members acknowledged the seriousness of the incident. The chair said the district has longstanding safeguards but described this event as a human error and affirmed that the director took disciplinary action: "We do feel like we have a very, stringent, and thorough policy in place, but we're gonna go back and revisit it," the chair said. He added the board would ask the director and transportation supervisor to review current practices and report back.
At the meeting the chair confirmed the bus driver involved was reassigned from that route and that a bus attendant had been removed. Board members said they expected a follow‑up from district leadership after a review of procedures.
The board did not vote on a specific new policy at the meeting; members instead directed staff to revisit protocols and to prepare recommendations. The chair said the board expects a follow‑up report from district leadership after they review current safeguards and incident response procedures.