A five-year-old Hempstead kindergartner ended up walking home alone last week after her school bus driver and matron bypassed her daycare stop entirely, leaving the child to navigate busy residential streets on her own. Her mother, Ni-Ima Lattimer, said she was outraged that her daughter, Ka'mylah, had to find her own way home rather than being handed off to a caregiver as planned.
Ka'mylah, who attends Roosevelt Children's Academy Charter School, was supposed to be dropped off at daycare located around the corner from her Hempstead home, according to CBS News. Instead, the bus driver and matron dropped her off somewhere between the daycare and her home on September 8, forcing the kindergartner to walk roughly five minutes unattended through the area to reach her house, according to News 12 Long Island.
Lattimer had originally scheduled a doctor's appointment for that time slot but canceled it, according to the same News 12 report — meaning she happened to be home to let her daughter inside. Had she kept that appointment, no adult would have been there to unlock the door when the five-year-old arrived alone.
Mother Warns of What Could Have Happened
Lattimer said her daughter could have been hit by a car, kidnapped, or wandered off during the unsupervised walk. She also said she congratulated Ka'mylah for finding her way home on her own, even as she spoke out publicly to warn other parents to beware of similar mix-ups.
First Student said district protocol requires drivers to release kindergarten students only to a designated caregiver rather than dropping them off unattended. That standard is also reflected in guidelines described by the NYC Department of Education, which prohibit its bus drivers from releasing kindergarten or pre-K students without an authorized adult present, requiring them to contact dispatch and keep a child on board if no caregiver is waiting at the stop.
The company confirmed the student was okay and said it removed the driver from service within the district, calling the response strong disciplinary action. First Student also said it has provided additional training on routes and stops, and Lattimer said she has since met with the new bus driver assigned to the route.
Not the First Long Island Mix-Up
This is not an isolated incident on Long Island. In October 2024, a five-year-old kindergartner in East Meadow was left at the wrong bus stop two miles from his daycare by Guardian Bus Company and was found wandering along busy Merrick Avenue, according to CBS News; that driver was removed from the route and disciplined after failing to verify whether a parent was present. Just last September, a nine-year-old girl in Freeport was left lost and alone miles from home on her first day of school, per News 12 Long Island.
The pattern isn't confined to Long Island. Hoodline reported this month that the Raymore-Peculiar School District board was scheduled to review transportation concerns at a future work session after a five-year-old was dropped off at the wrong stop there in 105-degree heat.
State Rules Meant to Prevent This
New York has long required rigorous oversight of school bus operations. Under Article 19-A of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, enacted in 1974 following a fatal 1972 school bus accident, all drivers must pass pre-employment background checks, physical exams, annual driving record reviews, and biennial road and written tests, according to the New York DMV.
Separately, under New York Education Law Section 3635, districts are legally required to provide school bus transportation for students in kindergarten through eighth grade who live more than two miles from their school, up to 15 miles, according to the New York State Senate. Districts frequently contract with private operators like First Student, North America's largest school bus provider, which operates roughly 47,000 vehicles and completes more than 5.6 million student rides daily across 38 states and seven Canadian provinces.
The incident occurred in early September. For Lattimer, the near miss was enough to push her to speak publicly, hoping other Long Island parents pay closer attention to who is supposed to be waiting at the stop.
