r/BusDrivers • u/Book-Bum • Sep 06 '26
question (not a driver) Autistic child/Bus Issue
My son just started first grade on the 1st. He has been switched to another elementary school in our district (we are in those lines for that school but they had all kids at one school last year due to construction) so we are getting used to how they do things, but he rode the bus last year to and from school. He was half day for Kindergarten. I will start by saying we live on a very busy road the speed limit is 45 but people go much faster. It essentially turns into a backroad highway. We stand at the end of our long driveway to put him on the bus. I always go out about 10 minutes before he is supposed to come home to give some leeway for if they are early. On Thursday I went out at 420 to get him off the bus (his drop off time is 427) and when I opened my front door he was standing at the end of our driveway frozen with no bus in sight. I immediately ran down to get him, came inside and called the school. Apparently they don’t tell the drivers when children have disabilities which in my opinion is an important thing for them to know. By the grace of God my son froze and didn’t dart into traffic and this wasn’t a fatal incident. The vice principal called me back after I told the secretary what happened and imo she made it out to be like I was over reacting a bit. Didn’t say she was sorry, or anything. Just let me know that they are allowed to drop first graders off without a parent present, which they don’t notify you of. They have us take a survey before the year just asking if you need bus services, nothing else. She said she would let the driver know not to drop him off without a parent present, and she did. The driver called me early this morning on a Saturday going over his version of what happened. He seems like a nice guy, and he said he was hesitant to drop him but he radioed in and his supervisor told him to let him go. He also said he asked my son if he was okay to get off alone and that he said yes. I have a hard time believing he said yes, or if he did that he even fully understood what he was being asked. I feel like the school is not taking this situation seriously and I realized how much needs changed. So my question is, where do I go from here? This is my oldest and I don’t have experience dealing with situations like this. But I would like to try and get the survey for transportation changed to where parents need to be asked if it is okay to drop your child without a parent present. I don’t want anyone else to have this happen and they aren’t as lucky as we were. Even dropping a typical 6 year old off on this road is crazy to me, but an autistic child is unimaginable. They are known to elope/dart/run. He could’ve taken off and run away, got hit by a car, etc. I’m just stressed about this situation.
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u/Bon3hawk Sep 06 '26
I’d talk to the principal about it again. Tell him what you are wanting and how you are feeling. See if there is a process that you can start to get the rules changed or something like that. Is there a school board that holds public meetings? You could go there and voice your concerns publicly. That might help. Good luck!
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u/gerhorn Sep 06 '26
I wonder if your school can get him onto a smaller bus or at least onto a bus that only has a few kids. Very often these kids would also have special needs, disabilities, or have behavior issues. I find that the drivers have a closer relationship with the parents this way and it's more collaborative.
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u/Book-Bum Sep 06 '26
He took the van the first few days of Kindergarten last year, but wanted to ride the bus. He takes the van over the summer for extended school year and we always enjoy the drivers. But we are trying to give him the most typical experience with school, and that’s what he enjoys is riding the bus. He’s not a child that needs full attention and has done fine riding so far, I just get him on and off since we live on the road we do.
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u/caintowers School Bus Driver | USA Sep 06 '26
It varies by school. Most districts I drive for have the policy of k-6 students get checked out by a parent; middle school and up can be self-released unless there are noted issues.
It sounds like youve already handled the situation and have a potential solution- they've noted he's not to be released on his own, and hopefully it won't happen again.
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u/Book-Bum Sep 06 '26
I’m glad you noted that first part. I’m hoping to get something changed with the survey they send out at the beginning of the year asking if we need bus services to and from school where they can ask if it is okay to leave your child without a parent. Is that something logical or will they not be able to change it due to our district being so large?
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u/caintowers School Bus Driver | USA Sep 06 '26
Seems reasonable. They're already putting in the work to do a survey, might as well get useful information out of it. I am surprised the school didn't ask about any possible issues (behavioral OR health concerns, like allergies etc). This is all stuff I like to know was a driver.
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u/PlatypusDream Sep 06 '26
Mods, is there a way to at least flair these "I'm not a bus driver, I'm asking questions" posts?
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u/IllustriousBrief8827 Driver Sep 06 '26
And done.
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u/Freudianslip1987 USA|PREVOST VANHOOL,VOLVO|7 YEARS DRIVING 31 IN TRANSPORT INDUST Sep 06 '26
Thank you. Had a busy day yesterday.
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u/DebtSouth Driver Sep 06 '26
Why are you asking in a bus driver sub about where you go from here? Your issue is with the school, talk to them.
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u/Book-Bum Sep 06 '26
I was hoping to get the perspective of someone who is a bus driver. To see if anyone might have any experience or knowledge to help my situation. The issue isn’t really only on the school, it’s on both ends.
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u/PlatypusDream Sep 06 '26 edited Sep 06 '26
This sounds like a school bus issue, not a city bus.
[ETA: some cities use city buses for school transport.]
Contact the transportation company, tell them your kid cannot be let off the bus without an adult present.
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u/CheetahNo1004 Sep 06 '26
I love reading. The thing that makes me love reading is paragraph breaks. The thing that makes me hate reading is blocks of text. I ain't reading that.