A Houston mother is demanding accountability from Houston Independent School District (HISD) after her 4-year-old pre-kindergarten daughter was mistakenly placed in a stranger’s vehicle during school dismissal, despite repeatedly telling staff she did not know the driver.
The incident occurred on Jan. 29 at Bastian Elementary School and was first reported by KHOU 11. The child, Brielle Davis, was ultimately returned safely, but her mother, Dajia Spencer, says the district’s handling of the situation has left her family traumatized and shaken her trust in the school system.
“I don’t know how I can ever trust HISD again,” Spencer said.
According to Spencer, she and Brielle’s father are the only individuals who have ever picked the child up from school—an established routine she says should have raised immediate red flags.
Spencer also says her daughter clearly told dismissal staff that the car she was being placed into was not hers.
“She told them that was not her car,” Spencer said. “He looked at me in my face and told me that my child said she didn’t know the driver—and they still put her in the car. That was a slap in the face.”
Spencer said Brielle was placed into a vehicle with other children and driven off campus before the error was discovered. HISD confirmed in a written statement that a school employee mistakenly placed the pre-K student in the wrong car during dismissal.
“As the parent who was driving was leaving the campus, they realized what happened and drove around the school to return the student,” the district said.
HISD stated that the child was immediately brought back to campus and remained with staff in the front office while administrators contacted her parents. However, Spencer disputes that account, saying she received no immediate notification or incident report from the school.
“My four-year-old daughter had to tell me herself,” Spencer said. “Nobody called me. Nobody explained anything.”
HISD says the staff member involved has been removed from dismissal duty, additional staff have been assigned to support pre-K car rider procedures, and Brielle’s dismissal process has been changed so she would be released directly from the front office. Despite these measures, Spencer says her daughter will not be returning to the school.
“I feel like they’re trying to minimize this because she was returned,” Spencer said. “But they don’t see what happens after. She was crying. She told me she was scared. As a mother, I don’t know how to feel.”
As a precaution, Spencer took her daughter to a doctor, who confirmed the child was physically unharmed. She has also filed a police report regarding the incident.
In its full statement, HISD said it remains committed to student safety “before, during, and after school,” but the incident has raised broader concerns among parents about dismissal protocols and safeguards for young children.
For Spencer, the issue goes beyond policy changes.
“It shouldn’t be possible for a random person to pick up a child with no ID, no verification, no fact-checking,” she said. “This should never happen to another family.”
