Mother Reports Incident of Special Needs Student Left on School Bus for 7 Hours in Waco, Texas

A distressing incident unfolded in Waco, Texas, when a mother discovered her son, who has severe autism, spent seven hours forgotten on a school bus.

Shannon Jennings Hernandez, the concerned mother, expressed her fear upon realizing that her son was absent from class without her being informed.

Jennings Hernandez detailed the routine, mentioning, “He leaves our home around 7:09 a.m. on a special education bus, which is smaller than the regular ones.”

It wasn’t until 3:40 p.m. that Monday when Hernandez received a call from the district’s transportation director, revealing the oversight. Her son Isaac had been mistakenly left on the bus the entire day without attending any classes.

“He assured me that Isaac was alright, albeit hungry. They provided him with food and had a nurse evaluate him to ensure his well-being,” Hernandez recounted.

Attendance is taken every day at 10:00 a.m., according to the district’s website. Hernandez explained that normally the school will let parents know if their child is absent.

“At 10:30 I would get a phone call or a text message, and sometimes I’d get an email that says your child was marked absent today,” she said.

Thankfully, she said Isaac is OK, but the outcome could have easily been much worse.

“The weather could have been Texas-usual weather. He could have got off the bus, you know, and wandered,” she said. “I was terrified because at some point, I know there was a way to alert them sooner. There has to be something better if that’s where we’re sending our kids.”

The mother said he son still doesn’t understand why it happened.

“He was questioning, you know, a lot of questions on the bus. He was nervous about being left again…he’s like, “I don’t ever want to be left on the bus again, mom.”

The school district said it is putting additional checks and fail-safes in place to prevent incidents like this from ever happening again.

The district also says it has taken steps to self-report the incident to the appropriate oversight agencies.

The driver and bus-aide have been put on administrative leave until further notice.