JETMORE ? Two substitute school-bus drivers who inadvertently left a 4-year-old boy on a school bus for nearly seven hours have lost their contracts and could face litigation.

The boy’s mother, Candice Koehn, said her lawyer was investigating the case.

Koehn’s son Erik was picked up from his home in rural Hodgeman County last month, bound for preschool at Jetmore Grade School. He remained strapped into a safety seat for almost seven hours before his mother and school officials found him.

Immediately after the incident, the Jetmore school board suspended the drivers, Dan Shuler and Nick Cossman. On Monday, the board terminated the drivers’ contracts completely. Shuller handled the morning bus route on March 22, and Cossman handled the afternoon route.

“The issue has been a concern, there’s no doubt about it,” said Jetmore Supt. Randall Jansonius. “It was definitely unintentional.”

The Jetmore district now calls on drivers to check a list of all children who board their buses so school officials know which students to expect, Jansonius said.