Nationwide — Michelle Lemon, an African American mother from Fort Bend County, Texas, is seeking answers after her daughter, Bryne, a non-verbal ninth grader who has special needs, arrived home from school nearly two hours late. Later, it was discovered that she spent hours on a school bus before reaching home.
Her daughter, Bryne, attends Hightower High School and usually takes the bus home in the afternoon. Her regular drop-off time is 2:50 p.m., but on Thursday, she did not arrive as expected. Lemon waited 30 minutes before calling Fort Bend ISD’s transportation department to find out where her daughter was. She said the response made the situation even more upsetting when an employee asked her to describe Bryne. “When that lady said, ‘Ma’am, describe your daughter,’ my heart sunk. Umm, what? I felt disappointed. I really felt like they didn’t care about my child at all,” Lemon said, according to WLBT.
As more time passed, Lemon said she learned that the bus driver did not have Bryne’s name on his list. The attendant who normally assists with the route was also reportedly absent that day. Lemon questioned how her daughter could ride the same bus regularly without the transportation staff knowing she was supposed to be there. “One, she is riding on your bus every day, to school and back, and today she is riding for a couple hours, and you have no idea,” she said. “My question is, how long was my daughter on your bus before you realized you don’t know who she was?”
Bryne eventually arrived home around 4:30 p.m., roughly two hours after her scheduled drop-off. Lemon immediately hugged her daughter, but because Bryne is non-verbal, she said she could not tell exactly how her daughter felt during the long ride. She also worried about whether Bryne remained safe throughout the delay.
Lemon said the high school contacted her as soon as possible, and several district officials called her the following morning. Fort Bend ISD said Bryne was never missing or left unsupervised. The district also told KPRC that Bryne did not have school identification with her and that the driver called to verify her information.
Lemon said she still wants to know how the situation happened. “How did that happen? I just need somebody to explain that to me,” she said. “Yes, it slipped through the cracks. I just don’t know who it was.” She added, “Let this be the first and last of what happens.”