Parent put 6-year-old on bus but he never makes it to school, Ohio lawsuit says
The parents of a 6-year-old boy are suing after they say their son’s whereabouts were unknown for a full school day once he was put on the bus.
The federal lawsuit was filed on Feb. 12 against the Reynoldsburg City School District Board of Education.
The Reynoldsburg City School District Board of Education told McClatchy News in an email it cannot comment on ongoing litigation but reaffirm its “commitment to providing a safe learning environment that is conducive to student success.”
On Feb. 16, 2023, the 6-year-old boy, who has autism and is nonverbal, was put on the school bus by his parent at 12:49 p.m., according to the lawsuit.
The boy’s school day was from 1 p.m. until 4:15 p.m., and he would typically ride the bus home, arriving at roughly 4:30 p.m., the civil complaint said. However, that afternoon, the boy did not arrive home at the usual time, according to the lawsuit.
While the bus was loading at the school, a preschool teacher told the bus driver, who was a substitute that day, that the boy was absent from school, the lawsuit said. The teacher also gave the driver an attendance sheet with him marked absent, the complaint said.
When 4:30 p.m. came, the boy did not arrive home and his parents were not notified that the bus would be late, as they usually would be when that was the case, according to the court document.
By 4:50 p.m., the boy’s parent called the bus garage and preschool several times, but got no answer, per the lawsuit.
By 5 p.m., his parent arrived at the school but was told by a teacher that no one else was in the building and the boy was probably on the bus, the lawsuit said. At 5:10 p.m., the parent called police and reported that their son never made it home and was missing.
Police arrived at the home and tried to get in contact with the bus garage and school, but couldn’t reach anyone, the lawsuit said. An officer was then sent to the bus garage.
At 5:40 p.m., the officer at the home received a call stating that the boy was on the bus and headed home, according to the complaint. He arrived home at 5:49 p.m., 79 minutes after his usual arrival time.
The court document said it’s unclear where the boy was from the time he was placed on the bus at 12:49 p.m. until he got home.
“It is unclear if John Doe was unaccompanied or subjected to accident or abuse for the afternoon in which he was unaccounted for,” the lawsuit said. “If John Doe was left unattended on the bus, as a non-verbal child with Autism Spectrum Disorder, John Doe would not be able to alert anyone.”
The next day, the boy’s parents requested an investigation into the incident and also requested to view the bus security video, the lawsuit said. A meeting was also scheduled for that day with school officials, but was canceled “without explanation,” according to the lawsuit.
Over the next couple weeks, several more requests were made for the school bus security video, the lawsuit said. Then, on March 7, the parents were told that the video was “no longer available” because of “lapse in time,” according to the complaint.
Because of a language barrier, the parents had been communicating with school officials through an interpreter. However, on March 10, the interpreter was told to cease communication with the parents, according to the lawsuit.
After the incident, the boy started having “tantrums and outbursts” that lasted for months, the lawsuit said. He also couldn’t return to preschool.
The lawsuit said the boy was discriminated against because of his disability and that the parents were “treated differently than similarly situated parents because of their national origin, language barrier and need for an interpreter.”
The lawsuit is asking for an undetermined amount in damages.
Reynoldsburg is about a 15-mile drive east of Columbus.
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 1:20 PM with the headline "Parent put 6-year-old on bus but he never makes it to school, Ohio lawsuit says."
