A 5-year-old student with special needs walked away from an elementary school in Bristol County last week during recess and was later found by police walking alone on a nearby street, prompting safety changes from the district and strong criticism from parents.
According to reports, the boy left the playground at Dighton Elementary School, walked down the school’s driveway, turned onto Center Street, and continued several houses down near Route 138. Police were notified after he was found at a nearby home. The child was found safe.
According to WHDH, Dighton-Rehoboth Superintendent Bill Runey addressed the incident at Tuesday night’s School Committee meeting. He said he has spoken directly with the child’s mother and apologized, acknowledging that the district breached the trust parents place in the school. Runey stated that an outside investigator has been hired to conduct an independent review of what happened, whether staff followed established procedures, and who should be held accountable. The district also self-reported the incident to the Department of Children and Families. Runey outlined immediate steps, including installing additional playground fencing expected to be completed this week, reinstating lunch and recess monitor positions that had been cut, reviewing supervision protocols and staff assignments, and recruiting additional paraprofessionals and Registered Behavior Technicians.
Parents, however, said the response has not gone far enough. In a Facebook post shared by a concerned parent after the School Committee meeting, she wrote that multiple families raised concerns about staffing shortages, supervision, and student safety, particularly for children with special needs, but received “silence.” She said the conversation quickly shifted to the district’s pride in a car show, with no acknowledgment of the safety issues raised.
“Our children are not an afterthought. Their safety is not optional,” the post stated. Parents called for transparency on staffing levels, why a fence was not already in place, and what immediate steps are being taken to prevent another child from leaving campus. Some noted that concerns about playground enclosure and staffing had been raised before the incident. Other parents echoed the frustration from the poster.
