D93 superintendent explains events leading to 4-year-old being left on school bus

IDAHO FALLS — Bonneville Joint School District 93 officials say several errors were made that lead to the four- to five-hour disappearance of a preschooler on Tuesday.

Officials say a 4-year-old boy took a school bus from his home to the preschool at Ammon Elementary School at noon. While on board the child fell asleep and the driver failed to notice he was still on the bus when she parked the vehicle in the district bus barn.

When the boy awoke alone, he managed to get out of the bus using the emergency exit and made his way — on foot — toward Bonneville High School, where he was accidentally ushered into another preschool.

RELATED: READ THE FULL ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED TUESDAY

District 93 Superintendent Chuck Shackett said Wednesday that school procedures were broken when the driver failed to check the parked bus for children. But he explained the driver had performed a check of the bus at Ammon Elementary, which was the final stop on the route.

“As children were getting off the bus, the driver noticed the boy was asleep,” Shackett said. “She woke up the child, he sat up, and she told him it was time to get off. (The driver) assumed he followed her to the front and got off, but he actually went back to sleep. … She thought the bus was empty because it was her final stop.”

Shackett also revealed how the child got from the parking lot of Bonneville High School into the preschool, where he was mistaken for a new student.

“Apparently the boy was outside and was walking past the library, when a senior (student) saw him from the window and wondered if he was lost,” Shackett said. “She went out and walked him to the preschool.”

At the preschool, the teacher assumed it was a new student who was supposed to be in the class that day. When the teacher called the 4-year-old by the new student’s name, he did not contradict her. The boy spent the rest of the day at the school, until staff determined who he was and he was reunited with his parents.

Shackett said another error on the part of the district was that a robocall — an automated phone call or email — was not issued alerting the parents of the child’s absence from Ammon Elementary. The parents did not find out the 4-year-old hadn’t arrived at preschool until after he did not return on the bus at the end of the day — nearly three hours after he had left for school.

The superintendent said a robocall system is now in place at the school.

Shackett said the district is continuing its investigation into the incident, and working with the parents of the child to keep them informed on its results.

“I’ve spoken with the father, and we’ll continue to follow up with them as we do our investigation,” Shackett said.

EastIdahoNews.com reached out to the family about the incident, but they said they are not ready to talk to the media at this time.

Shackett said he could not discuss any potential disciplinary action against the driver as it is a personnel issue.

“We are evaluating and reviewing every aspect of this,” Shackett said. “We have the procedures already in place, but they didn’t happen. … Our bus drivers are now very aware that you walk the bus when you park, and this won’t happen again.”

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