Maybe mom works nights and has trouble getting up in the AM. My mom hated getting up in the morning. We were on our own in the morning. Maybe the teachers would prefer the little boy walk himself to school so he won't be late. It's first grade.
And how would you suggest punishing the parent for the parent’s mistake?
The mother has a responsibility, it is her child, not the schools, not the counties, not the states. She has the responsibility. The transgression has occurred six times this year already and the year is barely half over. The mother is obviously not taking steps to correct it. You are making excuses for the mother’s bad behaviour with no basis in fact.