Sto-Rox makes changes after bus drops off student with Down syndrome at closed school
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Sto-Rox School District is making changes after a bus dropped off a teenager with Down syndrome at a closed school, sparking a massive search that ended when she was found more than 24 hours later.
Sto-Rox School District told KDKA-TV it conducted an internal review immediately after 17-year-old Kayla Durler was found. The district said an ABC Transit bus dropped Durler off at the high school, even though students were learning remotely that day.
The district will now require all ABC Transit drivers to wait for a Sto-Rox staff member to meet their vans and minibuses once they arrive at the buildings. The district said it will also require the bus company to better implement a system to better receive communication about school closures.
Police asked the public for help finding Durler on the afternoon of Jan. 5 after she had been dropped off at the high school at 7 a.m. and hadn't been seen.
Over 100 volunteers set out to search for Durler the next day, passing out more than 1,000 flyers. A community member eventually found her in Downtown Pittsburgh more than 24 hours later. Medics evaluated her and said she appeared to be OK.
After Durler went missing, community members petitioned for a purple alert system, which would help find missing children with cognitive disabilities, like an Amber Alert. Similar purple alert systems have been implemented in states like Texas and Florida.
Pennsylvania state Reps. Jessica Benham and Brandon J. Markosek said in a memo that they plan on introducing legislation to establish a purple alert system, writing, "It is vital that a specialized system is in place for vulnerable, missing individuals to increase efficiency in searching for them and returning them home safely."
