Fort Worth ISD school bus
Amanda McCoy
FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
Two Fort Worth school district students were placed on the wrong bus home this week, creating what one parent described as a terrifying situation.
Jaria Branch’s 6-year-old daughter, Adrianna, is a first-grader at Woodway Elementary in southwest Fort Worth. On Wednesday afternoon, a Woodway employee mistakenly escorted Adrianna and another student onto the incorrect bus.
When the bus dropped students off at her apartment complex and Adrianna wasn’t aboard, Branch assumed her daughter had simply forgotten to get on the bus. Branch phoned the school, though, and was told Adrianna wasn’t there, either.
“It was really scary,” Branch said.
Adrianna, a 6-year-old Fort Worth elementary school student, was mistakenly put on the wrong bus home on Wednesday, August 19, 2026. Her mother, Jaria Branch, said she had no idea where Adrianna was for almost an hour, and she’s demanding answers from the Fort Worth school district about how this happened and how it could have been prevented. Jaria Branch Courtesy of Jaria Branch
Branch said Woodway employees could only say Adrianna was on the wrong bus, but they couldn’t immediately say which one she’d boarded. One employee, Branch said, asked if she had used the school district’s bus tracker application to locate Adrianna.
“But it wouldn’t matter since she wasn’t on the right bus,” said Branch, who was frustrated by that suggestion.
Branch accused a Woodway employee of hanging up on her while she was trying to get information. At 3:40 p.m., Branch called 9-1-1 to report Adrianna as missing.
Finally, the school located Adrianna and the other student, who lives in the same apartment complex as Adrianna and her family, and routed them home.
“Fort Worth ISD takes student transportation and safety seriously and reviewed the available video related to this incident,” a district spokesperson wrote in a statement to the Star-Telegram.
The spokesperson confirmed a Woodway staff member had put the students on the wrong bus. The district’s statement said the bus left the school at 3:21 p.m. and dropped the two students off at home around 3:47 p.m. after the error was discovered.
“Their regular drop-off time would have been approximately 3:31 p.m.,” the statement said.
Branch disputed that, saying it was closer to 4:15 or 4:30 p.m. before Adrianna arrived home. All told, Branch said, she had no idea where Adrianna was for almost an hour.
During that time, panic set in, Branch said.
“There is a lot going on in the world today, and as a parent, I should never have to wonder where my 6-year-old child is after she leaves school,” Branch wrote in an email to the Star-Telegram.
Branch said she went to Woodway on Thursday to discuss the incident with administrators, who apologized.
“The campus has now implemented a color-coded system to help ensure students are directed to and board the correct buses,” the school district’s statement said. “The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority, and we will continue to review and strengthen our transportation procedures as needed.”
The district’s color-coded solution isn’t enough for Branch, however. She said students and staff members previously identified buses by number, and she doesn’t see how using colors instead will help prevent another mistake. Branch added that Adrianna has a card in her backpack that shows what bus she’s supposed to ride and that school staffers could have referred to that card if there was any confusion.
Now, Branch said, she’s considering legal action against the school district.
“I am not trying to create unnecessary drama,” Branch wrote in her email. “I am a mother who was terrified that her child was missing, and I believe parents deserve answers and accountability when something this serious happens.”
In a similar incident last year, an 8-year-old Clifford Davis Elementary student was dropped off in the wrong neighborhood. The same thing happened to a North Hi Mount Elementary student in 2023. At a 2022 school board meeting, parents complained of ongoing bus-related issues. That led to the district enabling GPS tracking on school buses.
When he was hired in 2025, Nathan Graf, the school district’s transportation director, promised to turn around the department, which he described as disorganized.
Staff writer Lina Ruiz contributed to this story.
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Matt Adams is a news reporter covering Fort Worth, Tarrant County and surrounding areas. He previously wrote about aviation and travel and enjoys a good weekend road trip. Matt joined the Star-Telegram in January 2025.