Students turned away from class on first day at some HISD schools

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- HISD students are back in school, but many found out this morning they will have to go to a different school than what they expected.

Nina Osollo brought her daughter Nalisa to Horn Elementary School Monday morning, only to find out the school did not have room for her.

"After sitting there for 45 minutes, they told us that they don't know what they're going to do," Osollo said, "So go home. And they sent us home and told us to come back tomorrow."

Osollo said her daughter is staying home with her grandmother on what should have been her first day of school.

"She kept telling me she wanted to cry because she doesn't know where she's going," Osollo said, "And they didn't really help us or tell us anything."

On the other side of the school district, parents ran into similar problems.

Emily Gallegos said her two children were accepted at Stevens Elementary, but her niece who now lives with her has to go to a different school. She found this out Monday.

"It's gonna cause more traffic, more drama with us," Gallegos said, "Because we'll have to go to one school and then drop the other one off at the other school."

HISD declined an on-camera interview but emailed Eyewitness News the following statement: "This is not a new policy. It is standard practice to cap enrollment when schools and/or grade levels reach capacity. This allows the district to comply with state law, which limits kindergarten through fourth grade classrooms to 22 students. Any remaining students are assigned to a nearby hub school with available space, which is done to ensure all students have a seat at an HISD school."

Eyewitness News is still waiting to find out how many students were on the wait list on the first day of school, and which schools are having the biggest problems with overcrowding.

Osollo said the first day of school was a nightmare for her family.

"I'm angry," she said.