A student in Richland, Washington thought the school bus smelled bad, so she sprayed perfume. But apparently, dousing a bus in No.5 (or any flowery scent) is against the school district's rules -- and she was kicked off when she wouldn't hand over the bottle to the driver. The 15-year-old's parents, Clair and Carrie Doyle, were outraged.
"It's unacceptable to have the school district treat our children like this. I don't care if she was fighting. I don't care what she was doing. I wasn't notified," her dad told KNDO.
The girl was ordered off the bus and let off at the middle school two blocks away from Richland High. And though it's the disctrict's policy to contact parents if a student is asked to get off the bus, faculty didn't call them. Their explanation? Since the young girl was on the phone with her parents as it was happening, the school considered that contact.
Steve Aagard of Richland School District says that they are not planning any policy changes. If a similar incident occurs in the future, the bus driver will be sure to let the student off in a safe area, he told KNDO. But this doesn't put the Doyles' minds at ease.
"The possibility of somebody pulling up and grabbing them after school is huge," the girl's father argued.
This statement might not be accurate though; it adds to a seemingly endless debate of whether the danger faced by a child left alone is real or perceived. According to Warwick Cairns, author of "How to Live Dangerously," the possibility of someone kidnapping a child is not actually huge. He estimates that it would take 750,000 hours for that to absolutely happen if you were to leave your child on a street corner.