Fayetteville mom upset after special-needs student goes on nearly 100-mile field trip without permission

FAYETTEVILLE, NC (WTVD) -- A Fayetteville mother is demanding answers after her special-needs child went on a field trip he was not given permission to go on.

Latoya Cade told ABC11 that her 14-year-old son D'Andre got on a bus at Westover Middle School and traveled nearly 100 miles to spend the day in Wilmington with another class.

She received a phone call from her son's bus driver who told her that her son was not at school but attending the field trip.

"From 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., nobody even knew my son was gone," Cade said. "What trip is he on?"

On Monday, some students who attend Westover Middle went on a field trip to the Battleship USS North Carolina in Wilmington. His mother said he was told to get on the bus and that's what he did.

"My thoughts were going through and saying, 'I don't know what's going on,'" D'Andre Cade said.

His mother is now relieved knowing he was safe. D'Andre even said he enjoyed the field trip.

Cumberland County Schools acknowledged there were lapses in D'Andre's case.

In a statement to ABC11, school officials said:

"Field trip processes to include the assurance of documentation for participating students were not followed appropriately. The situation is being addressed and the proper procedures are being revisited. Appropriate supervision was in place during the entirety of the trip."