DeKalb County School District officials are working figure out how a 5-year-old special needs student wandered away from school twice in the still young school year.

District officials said Tuesday they were meeting with the boy’s parents to discuss corrective actions after the second incident where the boy wandered away from Columbia Elementary School Monday.

Superintendent Steve Green said changes will come immediately to avoid a third such incident.

“An instance like this, when a particularly vulnerable student receives less than effective oversight, is completely unacceptable,” he said in a statement, adding that the district “will make immediate and wholesale changes to the oversight of this student to ensure the appropriate care is being rendered.”

About the Author

Keep Reading

Uta Thomas picks up her son, Jax, during a public hearing in Atlanta on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. She implored the school board not to close Dunbar Elementary. 
"You would centralize education to decentralized families," she said. "You would break apart a community hub." (Abbey Cutrer / AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com

Featured

Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat gives a tour of Fulton County Jail in  2023. (Natrice Miller/AJC 2023)

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC