Special needs girl, 5, walks out of Galveston ISD school

GALVESTON, TX (KTRK) -- A mother of a 5-year-old with special needs says her daughter's school needs to do more to keep kids safe after the girl left the campus unnoticed and walked home alone.

Debra Turner says she heard a knock on the front door around lunchtime and when she opened it was surprised to see her daughter standing there drenched from walking in the rain. The 5-year-old attends Coastal Village school which is down the street from her home.

According to Galveston ISD officials, the student walked out of a side cafeteria door while her teacher was grabbing lunch. When the teacher returned, she noticed the student was no longer at the table.

Campus leaders then did a search for the child inside and outside the campus which lasted about five minutes. At the same time, the child's mother called the school to let them know her daughter was at home.

Galveston ISD officials say they have reviewed their security measures in light of today's event. They will be adding more hall monitors and a buddy system so that this incident doesn't happen again. Turner believes more needs to be done.