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In some localities, school buses can only drop young children off at stops where an adult or older child is waiting. |
Five-year-old Cameron Mitchell was dropped off at home on the first day of school, but nobody was there to meet her.
Cameron, a kindergartner at Rocky Run Elementary in Stafford County, was supposed to be taken to after-school day care, but boarded the wrong bus.
Cameron walked about a block to a neighbor's home, where she stayed until about 5:30 p.m., said her mother, Melissa Mitchell.
Stafford parents have reported several bus-stop mishaps already this year. During the first week of school, at least three other kindergartners, including a set of twins, were dropped off at the wrong stops.
"What really scares me is the people who prey on these children," Mitchell said.
She thinks the school division needs a policy requiring bus drivers to take children back to school if there's nobody to meet them.
Stafford and Spotsylvania schools have no such policies, but administrators say bus drivers use discretion. King George County and Fredericksburg do have policies against dropping off youngsters who don't have someone to meet them.
Stafford Deputy Superintendent Andre Nougaret said bus driv-ers often take kids back to school if they feel something's not right at a stop.
"I think it would be unfair to say it's not something we routinely do," he said. Most of the county's 21,000 bus riders get home with no issues, he noted.
Nougaret said he plans to talk with elementary school principals about bus-stop policies at an October meeting.
Kermit Shaffer, Spotsylvania's director of transportation, said requiring that every student be met by an adult is unrealistic.
"When you get to stops that have multiple students and parents there, you have to know which parents go with which student," he said. "To ask that driver to recognize every one of those parents you're asking too much of the drivers."
Still, he said, drivers watch for irregularities at bus stops and frequently return children to school.
In King George, kindergartners must be met by someone 12 or older, or they will be taken back to school. The same goes for children younger than 10, unless a parent signs a waiver, said Ray Newton, director of transportation.
"Last year it went into effect, and it's been well-received," he said.
At Hugh Mercer Elementary in Fredericksburg, which enrolls about 750 students in kindergarten through second grade, students must be met by someone at least 12 or be taken back to school.
"You don't want to just turn kids loose, not these days," said Hugh Mercer Principal Marjorie Tankersley. She said she has stayed at school until 6 p.m., waiting for parents to pick up their children.
The Caroline County school division doesn't have a policy, but won't drop off an elementary student unless there's an adult at the stop, said Eric Cunningham, assistant superintendent for administration.
But Caroline bus driv-ers won't necessarily keep children aboard if there's not an adult for every student.
"They know when things aren't right, and the practice is in place that you err on the side of safety," Cunningham said.
Jeff Branscome: 540/374-5402
Email: jbranscome@freelancestar.com
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other counties
PRINCE WILLIAM
Kindergartners must be met at their bus stops by an adult or a sibling 12 or older. FAIRFAXKindergartners who have morning classes and are dropped off at midday must be met by an adult. There is no requirement that kindergartners who have afternoon classes be met. |
