A Chicago mother is voicing her concerns after a distressing incident involving her young son and the local school transportation service. Her 4-year-old son, who is on the autism spectrum, was reportedly left outside in the cold by a school bus driver, sparking questions about safety protocols.
Rashia Pickett, the boy’s mother, is seeking answers from Chicago Public Schools after her son, Choice Sykes, was allegedly left alone in freezing temperatures for approximately 45 minutes. The incident has raised significant concerns for Pickett, who is eager to understand how such a lapse in procedure could occur.
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Despite the ordeal, Choice was seen smiling later that day, but the incident has left his mother uneasy. “From my understanding, if no one is home, the protocol is to take the child back to the school,” Pickett explained, emphasizing the importance of following set guidelines to ensure student safety.
Pickett described the usual routine for her pre-kindergarten son, who attends James Thorp Elementary. The school bus typically drops him off right at their doorstep in the South Chicago neighborhood near 91st and Burley. Accompanied by a bus aide, Choice is escorted to the door where Pickett greets them both, a process she describes as their normal routine.
In the wake of this unsettling event, Pickett is demanding clarity and assurances that future incidents can be prevented, underscoring the vital need for reliable and safe transportation for all students, especially those with special needs.
“There’s a bus aide that lets him out, walks him to the door,” Pickett said. “I greet her. It’s a normal routine for us.”
But on Wednesday, his mother says plans were changed.
“I knew I was going to be a little late picking him up from school, so I called the school about 1 o’clock, 1:18 to be exact, let them know do not put him in the bus and that I will have my eighth grader walk him home,” Pickett said. “When he got there to his class, they said he was already on the bus… I get a call from my neighbor, letting me know that my son is outside hysterically crying.”
Pickett says she rushed home and found her son unharmed in their hallway after her neighbor let him in to get warm.
“Entrusting someone with your child is already hard,” Pickett said. “Entrusting them with your disabled child, special needs child, is even more harder. And that trust has been violated, today.”
ABC7 has reached to Chicago Public Schools to learn the protocol when a parent isn’t at home during drop-off. ABC7 also reached out to the bus company for comment but have yet to hear back.
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