SOUTH BEND — Some South Bend parents are in shock all over again after learning a student at Jackson Intermediate School was left on a bus this week. It's the third time it's happened this year, and some say it's the last straw.

Details on exactly what happened are still being investigated, said South Bend School Corporation Superintendent James Kapsa, but it is clear the incident took place at Jackson Intermediate School on Tuesday morning.

"It appears the child did not get off the bus as she was supposed to. We believe that she had fallen asleep. The bus driver did not discover her asleep on the bus, and 10 to 15 minutes later, she was dropped off back at school," Kapsa said.

The student's brother was also on the bus, Kapsa said, and it's still unclear why he didn't notice her fail to get off it.

But, regardless of the reasons why, Jackson parent Jermaine Wooford said his reactions will be the same.

"It worries me. It worries me a lot," he said.

Two of his children ride the bus to school everyday, and he knows all too well what can go wrong.

Just after the 2008-2009 school year began, 5-year-old Dylan Holtsclaw fell asleep on his way to his afternoon kindergarten class at Kennedy Primary School. He was later found standing outside his school bus after it had been parked in the corporation's storage lot.

One month later, it happened again, this time to a Hay Primary School kindergartener. The driver of that bus found the student outside the bus when she driver stopped at a nearby gas station.

Wofford says even the second incident mystified him.

"It seems like after the first one, something would've been done to prevent it," he said.

Kapsa had a similar reaction.

"We have 200 buses in our fleet, and we transport 14,000 students every day. But, I'm upset with one [incident], much less three. We're right now scratching our heads, trying to figure out how to better get the message out that this is a critical point," he said.

It's not the first time for that feeling either.

Bus drivers were told to check their busses after every dropoff, every day, following the first incident.

"It's been reminded to the bus drivers over and over again how important that is to check their bus when they reach their destination. That's a top priority," Kapsa said.

But some parents say it's clear some drivers haven't gotten the message, so they're pushing for a policy change.

"After they drop the kids off, they should be required to do a check. When they do a stop, they need to do a count. They should know how many kids are at each bus stop, and count them as they're coming off," said Melissa Kruger, who has a son in 6th grade at Jackson.

Other parents want better screening of drivers.

"Periodically, 2-3 times a year, [they should review drivers] just to make sure they're doing their proper job," said Terry Hulse, whose two daughters also attend Jackson. "And if something happens, we should know now, not at the last minute."

Administrators say they will consider all suggestions, hand in hand with another stern warning.

"Every bus driver has to take this very seriously. We cannot allow that to happen, to leave these kids on the bus," Kapsa said.

But some parents wonder whether it will all be enough to keep it from happening again.

"If not, we're really going to have to rethink things," said Wofford. "If they don't make some changes, I guess I'll be having to take them to school from now on. I'll feel a bit safer doing that."

Administrators have not released the student or the bus driver's names, but Kapsa said the driver has been suspended while the incident is being investigated.

In both previous cases this year, the drivers did not report the incidents to the corporation, and Kapsa says they were later fired.

"I think we need to sit down with everybody again, as it was done in August with the bus drivers, and get that message to them loud and clear, how important this is," Kapsa said.