Maryland parents upset after school bus drops children off next to busy highway

Some Anne Arundel County parents are questioning why their 6-year-old children were dropped off by a school bus along a very busy Ritchie Highway on Tuesday afternoon.

The four first-graders were on a bus from Jones Elementary to the Smart Fit Kids aftercare program. 

The bus driver stopped near the parking lot's entrance, along the shoulder of Ritchie Highway, according to parents. 

"Something wasn't right"

The parents believe the children were forced off the school bus.

Lauren Lathrope's daughter attended Smart Fit Kids last year, and when she felt like something wasn't right, she spoke up to the driver.

"She told the bus driver, 'This isn't where we usually get off. We go in the shopping center and we're dropped off at the door,'" Lathrope said. "The bus driver [said], 'No, you need to get off.' 

Lathrope added, "She let her know again, 'But there's a lot of cars. I feel scared.' The fact that a grown woman can look at a 6-year-old and allow them to be in a situation where they don't feel safe and kick them off the bus, where's the common sense?"

Three of the students attended the aftercare program last year. 

"I was panicked at first"

On the first day of school, protocol was normal, and the students were dropped off near the front entrance of Smart Fit Kids. On the second day of school, they were dropped off near the road with no adult.

"I was panicked at first, because I just heard incident and the bus," said Murelle Farmer, whose son just started at the aftercare program this week.

One mother described Ritchie Highway as a speedway, saying she wouldn't feel safe walking along it.

"Anytime people can get the opportunity to kind of try to get around cars, they do so using the turn lane where our children were dropped off," Kati Brown said.

All three mothers say their children were shaken and confused about why this even happened. Some of them were wondering how they should handle it in the future.

"You expect everyone to do the right thing, to make the right call in the best interest of your child's safety," Lathrope said.

Parents seek answers

Parents say they reached out to the bus company and the Anne Arundel County Public Schools' transportation office for more information. 

They were told the bus drivers could lose their commercial driver's license if they drove into the parking lot to drop off the students.

The parents also learned that once children reach first grade, they no longer need a parent to pick them up at the bus stop.

"For all of last year, we were dropped at the front door… If there is a reason for the change, I'd be interested to hear what that is because it certainly doesn't have safety in mind," Brown said. "There is no requirement for an adult to be present at a bus stop. They can release children as long as they're not kindergartners, so somehow, they magically matured."

Parents want to review the security video

Farmer said she expressed concern that no adult was present to receive the children. 

The bus company said that if no one is at the driveway, the children will stay on the bus and return to school, rather than be dropped off near Ritchie Highway.

The parents say they are hoping to review the security video from inside the bus to learn more about the interaction between the students and the driver. They also say they don't trust the driver and are not sending their students on the bus right now.

"When I spoke to the bus charter company, they let me know that this would not happen again," Farmer said. "I'm not sure I would feel comfortable trusting that same driver again."

School district, after-school program responds

A spokesperson for Anne Arundel County Public Schools said the district is investigating.

"It is certainly our intention to deliver students to the appropriate place at the appropriate time in as safe a manner as possible," the district spokesperson said. "We are aware of the concerns and are investigating the matter at this time."

Smart Fit Kids told WJZ that the bus driver went against years of established protocols. It was unaware of the bus route change.

"The Public School Bus from Jones Elementary did not follow the established safety procedures that have been in place for many years," Smart Fit Kids said. "Instead of dropping off students directly at the doorstep of our facility to one of our trained staff as they have in previous years, the bus driver, without any notice or communication to our staff, dropped off four students at the entrance of our complex."

Smart Fit Kids continued, "One of our staff that was returning from another elementary school immediately noticed the situation and ensured that the four children went safely to our facility… We are working directly with the school to rectify the situation with the public-school bus service they are contracted with.  Our interim solution is to provide one of our vans to pick up the students directly from Jones Elementary…The safety of the students in our program is and will remain our highest priority and we will continue to push for resolution with the school bus contractor while continuing our close partnership with the Public Schools that we serve."

Other fatal crashes on Ritchie Highway

Just feet away from where the children were dropped off, sits a memorial for a pedestrian who was struck and killed.

In June 2023, Jeffrey Scott Simmons, 45, died after being hit by a vehicle in the travel lane while walking on the southbound side of Ritchie Highway. He was not wearing any reflective clothing at the time.