Dad: School bus aides left autistic son at wrong home
CHERRY HILL, N.J. — A father wants better training for school bus drivers and aides after his autistic son mistakenly was dropped off and left alone at a neighbor's home.
Stuart Chaifetz says his 12-year-old son, Akian, spent an estimated 15 minutes "confused and alone" before the occupant returned from walking her dog.
"Thankfully he's fine, but it's really just by every good grace that something bad did not happen," Chaifetz said Wednesday.
The father released a YouTube video calling for action by Gov. Chris Christie and state legislators and berating Bellmawr-based Holcomb Bus Co.
"You're not carting packages that can be deposited without a signature on someone's front porch," Chaifetz says in the almost seven-minute video. "You're carrying children."
Chaifetz took similar action in May 2012 when he prepared a video about alleged verbal abuse of his son by staffers at Horace Mann Elementary School in Cherry Hill. In that incident, Chaifetz hid a recorder in Akian's pocket to catch staffers in the act of shouting at and belittling the boy.
In his latest video, an often-emotional Chaifetz says a substitute bus driver took Akian to the wrong home on July 8, the second day of summer sessions. A substitute bus aide walked Akian to the unlocked front door and opened it for him.
The home's occupant returned to find Akian in her home, Chaifetz says. "He still had his backpack on and he asked her, 'Where's Dad?' "
The woman, who lives "about eight houses" from the Chaifetz home, recognized Akian. The neighbor, identified only as an older woman, declined a request to speak to a reporter, according to Chaifetz.
Chaifetz, who had been waiting at home for his son, described the incident as "an unbelievable nightmare" and "ungodly appalling." Under other circumstances, he noted, his son might have been shot as an intruder or might have wandered away into neighboring woods.
"It's just mind-boggling that these drivers and aides are so ill-prepared for the job," Chaifetz said in an interview. "You get these kids home safely and you hand them off to a parent, and nothing else."
Assemblyman Daniel Benson, D-Mercer, responded to a mass e-mail from Chaifetz, noting a bill introduced in January would require training for school bus drivers and aides who interact with special needs students. He said the measure reflects concerns from "a number of parents who had incidents" involving special-needs children on school buses.
Christie vetoed a similar measure last year after state Department of Education officials said existing regulations already address the issue, Benson said. "But stories like this one show a need for a much clearer statute that says both the aide and bus driver should be receiving training."
A representative of Holcomb Bus Co. could not be reached for comment.
As a result of the incident, the Cherry Hill school district "has identified procedures to prevent a recurrence and has instructed all of our contracted bus vendors to immediately implement those procedures," spokeswoman Barbara Wilson said in a statement.
"We are relieved that the student is safe and extended apologies to Mr. Chaifetz and the student," the statement said.
Chaifetz said he is not upset that the school district gave an incorrect address to the bus company.
"Mistakes like that happen, and the fail-safe is supposed to be the aide on the bus," he said.
"The school district has been very good," he said. "They've handled it with all the seriousness it deserved."
Chaifetz was a fierce critic of the district during the 2012 incident, which led to the departure of two staffers heard shouting at Akian. As part of its response to that incident, the district introduced a training program for all educational assistants, with specialized training for staffers in self-contained classrooms.