A Houston mother has raised significant concerns after her 4-year-old daughter was mistakenly placed in a stranger’s vehicle during school dismissal at Bastian Elementary School, part of the Houston Independent School District (HISD). This incident has prompted a police report and renewed discussions regarding the safety protocols in place for student pick-up.
Daja Spencer recounted the troubling event that occurred on a Thursday afternoon when her daughter, a pre-K student, was inadvertently put into a car driven by someone not authorized to collect her. The child was taken off-campus before the situation was rectified and she was returned to the school.
In a statement, HISD confirmed that the student was “safely and immediately returned” but did not address all of Spencer’s concerns. “When she came to the car, she was crying and very upset,” Spencer said, recounting her daughter’s distressing words upon returning home. “She told me, ‘Mommy, I was put in the wrong car. I didn’t see you. I didn’t see daddy. Why didn’t you come save me?’”
According to Spencer, her daughter had alerted school staff that she was getting into the wrong vehicle, yet she was still placed inside it. The district maintains that the child remained in the front office with staff while her parent was contacted, a claim Spencer contests vehemently.
“My child was in a car with a stranger from about 3:12 p.m. to about 3:24 p.m.,” she clarified, explaining how she discovered the incident only after arriving at the school. Following the incident, Spencer filed a police report and took her daughter to the hospital for evaluation, noting that while her daughter is physically fine, she is struggling emotionally.
Spencer expressed frustration over the lack of communication from the school, stating she has not received an incident report and has been unable to find out important details regarding who her daughter was with or the duration of the incident. “When I go to the school, they tell me they can’t let me know anything,” she lamented.
In response to the incident, HISD has updated its dismissal procedures to ensure the child is now dismissed directly from the front office. The district also confirmed that the employee responsible has been removed from car rider duty, and additional personnel have been assigned to assist with pre-K dismissals. “Houston ISD is committed to ensuring the safety of students before, during and after school,” the district stated.
In light of the incident, Spencer has decided to withdraw her daughter from Bastian Elementary. She emphasized the importance of communication, stating, “If my daughter didn’t tell me what happened, I wouldn’t know anything.” She also mentioned that her daughter indicated there were other children in the vehicle at the time, and that the car had gone to a home before returning to the school.
HISD reiterated their commitment to student safety in a formal statement regarding the incident, underscoring the measures they are taking to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
