2nd Humble ISD bus mix-up: 5-year-old left alone at wrong stop miles from home

5-year-old Humble student dropped off miles from home

A Humble ISD mother is raising concerns after her 5-year-old daughter was allegedly put on the wrong bus and dropped off miles from home.

HUMBLE - A Humble ISD mother says her 5-year-old daughter was put on the wrong bus and dropped off alone in a neighborhood miles away from their home. 

It’s the second incident in the district where a child was left at the wrong stop during the second day of school.

Humble ISD bus mixup

Veronica Benavides says her daughter, a kindergartner at Centennial Elementary. She said the incident happened on the second day of school.

After waiting at the normal stop, Benavides later learned her daughter was placed on the wrong bus and dropped off in a completely different neighborhood, nearly a 45-minute walk from home. 

A stranger spotted the little girl and helped make sure she got back safely. Benavides says she's grateful the person found her daughter and she was okay.

What they're saying:

"I’m waiting there, all the kids get off the bus, and I’m thinking, ‘Where’s my daughter?’" Benavides said. "At that point it was the worst feeling in my gut. The driver told me she wasn’t on his bus. I thought the worst — kidnapping is real, and I thought I lost her."

Benavides says she no longer trusts the transportation system.

"She will never ride the bus again," she said. "But not everyone has that option. Some people really rely on that transportation. I thought I had to say something to make sure this doesn’t happen again."

Humble ISD responds

The other side:

Humble ISD leaders say procedures weren’t followed that day. Dr. Jason Seybert, Associate Superintendent of Support Services, says the district has since made changes to prevent this from happening again.

"The student was accidentally put on the wrong bus and procedures weren’t followed," Seybert said. "Since then, we’ve implemented additional procedures. At this school, every student now has a number and color-coded tag on their backpack to show what bus they are supposed to be on."

Drivers also have rosters and auditing procedures are in place to make sure every student is accounted for and gets on the correct bus.

In addition, the district says new technology is now being used. Students receive swipe tags each time they board or exit a bus. Parents and the district can see if their child got on the bus and where they got off. Families can also download the Zum Transportation App, which tracks when a bus departs and provides estimated arrival times at bus stops.

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Parents outraged after kids dropped off at wrong bus stops in Humble and Texas City

School just started for many local districts, but some parents are already raising concerns after their kids were dropped off at the wrong bus stop. FOX 26’s Jillian Hartmann spoke with families in Humble and Texas City who say their kids were left frightened and alone.

Humble ISD also released a statement:

"The well-being of every child matters. We are sorry that the child and parents experienced this situation. Procedures are in place, but unfortunately mistakes were made on the second day of school. We take this seriously and have addressed staff on procedures that must be followed. 

Additionally, some other safeguards have been implemented. First, at this student’s school, each student’s bus tag is now color-coded in addition to displaying the bus number. This helps prevent human error by making it easier for staff to visually match students to the correct bus. Instead of only reading a number, teachers can also quickly check that the color matches the assigned route.

Secondly, transportation leaders are auditing drivers to make sure they consistently follow roster procedures. The roster indicates whether a student is assigned to that bus, which helps prevent students from boarding the wrong."