Who's driving the bus?

 Who’s Driving the Bus?

 

The problem is fewer and fewer people are driving the bus.   There is as much a shortage of school bus drivers as there is a shortage of teachers.   So what’s a school system going to do?

Obviously, routes are going to be combined and that means longer rides for kids.   When possible, more students will be made to walk to school if they live within the limits.

And there are some instances where transportation is being cut in ways that are unlawful.   For children with disabilities who have an individual education plan or IEP, transportation is a related service that must be delivered.  The courts have long ruled that to offer a child an educational program but then not provide transportation- well, that is not a true offer.

Some systems have tried to get around that requirement by telling parents that the system will pay milage if the parents will transport.   Once again that is not a valid offer if the parents do not have the means whether because of other obligations like work or they do not have a car. 

Now there is another illegal operation that has slipped into place.  Some school districts are running busses on multiple schedules which could mean that children with special needs are routinely arriving 1-1.5 hours late for school.  This delayed arrival has multiple problems only one of which is illegal.   A child’s IEP specifically states the number of hours the child will receive special education.  If a student’s bus is going to arrive an hour or so late every day, that child is going to lose five hours a week of special education and related services.  It is a clear violation of the IEP which is a contract for service.   There is further loss to the child besides the hour or so of instruction.   Kids arriving routinely after school has started miss out on the morning organizational routine.  For kids with some disabilities that delay puts the entire rest of the day out of synch.   They never catch up so it is not just the hour or so the students are losing but that could also impact the remaining 5 hours of the day.

Families do not have to accept this loss of instruction.  The school system will say they cannot help the shortage of bus drivers.  That may well be true, but the reality is that children with disabilities have a LEGAL right to transportation while for the rest of the plain kids that transportation is a matter of convenience.   In fact, in some school districts with adequate public transportation, students are given tokens and use that public transportation.   So school busses are a privilege for plain kids but a requirement for students with disabilities.

Families do NOT need to accept the lack of appropriate transportation provided by the school district.   Transportation that is designed to be delayed and or is not provided is a violation of the contract provided by the IEP.   Families have the right and should file a complaint with both the school district and with the state department of education which is tasked with making sure local districts deliver on the requirements of federal and state law.

In the end, it is the child’s families who are driving the bus and those families need to get up and get in the drivers’ seat.