A South Chicago mother says a routine afternoon school-bus drop-off turned into a nightmare when her 4-year-old son, who lives with autism, was left standing outside their home in the cold. The boy, a pre-kindergarten student at James Thorp Elementary, was eventually found crying by a neighbor, who brought him indoors. His mother, Rashia Pickett, believes he was outside for roughly 45 minutes and says she is now demanding answers from Chicago Public Schools and the bus company.
Pickett's timeline and the family's account
According to ABC7 Chicago, Pickett says she called James Thorp Elementary at 1:18 p.m. to warn that she would be late and to ask that her son not be put on the bus. She says she was told he was already en route home.
"From my understanding is, if someone is not at home, they are supposed to take them back to the school," Pickett told ABC7. Instead, she says a neighbor spotted her son, Choice Sykes, outside near 91st and Burley, crying in the cold, and took him inside to warm up.
Pickett says she later found her son unharmed in their hallway, but she describes the episode as a serious breach of trust in the system that is supposed to keep her child safe.
CPS transportation policy and contact points
The district’s Transportation Services page outlines how school transportation is supposed to work, including contact numbers for Student Transportation and the Bus Aide Hotline, as well as details on a hub-stop pilot and other steps CPS has taken to manage a national school-bus driver shortage. According to Chicago Public Schools, families with questions about routes or safety can call the Student Transportation main line at 773-553-2860 or the Bus Aide Hotline at 773-553-2850.
The Transportation Services page also provides online forms for stop-change requests and for special-education transportation, which parents can use to document problems and request follow up from transportation staff.
Why parents are on edge
Pickett’s complaint lands at a tense moment for CPS transportation. Reporting last year found that thousands of students with disabilities initially had no bus service as the district wrestled with a driver shortage and growing demand for special transportation. As WBEZ documented, CPS has been prioritizing students with Individualized Education Programs and relying on stipends, Ventra cards and other temporary measures while it tries to stabilize busing.
Parents also point to other high-profile safety concerns involving special-needs riders, including a 2023 CBS Chicago investigation into a bus attendant restraining a student with autism, as reasons they scrutinize how children with disabilities are handled on buses.
What families can do now
CPS directs families with urgent transportation issues to call Student Transportation at 773-553-2860 or the Bus Aide Hotline at 773-553-2850, and to work with their school principal to file formal complaints or stop-change requests when needed. Using the district’s online forms can create a paper trail that may help speed responses from transportation staff.
If parents believe a child has been put in danger, they often notify school leadership and may also decide to contact local authorities, in addition to working through the district’s internal process.
Pickett says she wants accountability and stronger safeguards to make sure no other family goes through what hers did. ABC7 Chicago reports that CPS and the bus company had been contacted for comment and had not responded as of publication. The family says it plans to keep pressing the school for answers.
