Busing woes? Here’s what to do
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Two weeks into the school year, some students are spending more hours on school buses than they do in some classes. Lindsey Christ, former Insideschools staffer and now NY1 education reporter, reported Monday that a Queens kindergartner commutes for two hours on a bus to get to a school located just 10 minutes from his home.
The Daily News reported on students in the Bronx who have been denied busing because their school, the Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation, moved from one district to another. A Department of Education official was quoted saying that buses do not cross district lines, except in cases of children who transfer schools under the No Child Left Behind law.
Special education students are bused across district lines, if their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) specifies that they need a program that’s not offered in their district. And, it is the families of special needs students who most often have busing troubles, especially at the beginning of the school year.
Advocates for Children coordinated an effort to monitor special education placement at enrollment center across the city to identify and track common problems experienced by parents during the first two weeks of schools. Many parents told the monitors about transportation problems, including busing.
“A number of parents we spoke with expressed concerns about busing and transportation – some of them quite egregious,” said Maggie Moroff, special education policy coordinator at AFC. “We are working to assure those families have the information they need to advocate for themselves, and helping out wherever possible.”
For example, advocates are working with a Queens mother whose son gets on a bus at 6:45 a.m. but does not arrive to school until 9 a.m., an hour after classes begin. She has been unable to resolve the problem with the DOE.
The ARISE coalition, an alliance of parents, advocates, and educators who are pushing for systemic change in special education in New York City, advises families to call the Office of Pupil Transportation, at (718) 784-3313, to report a busing problem immediately. If there is no response, parents may reach out to the OPT borough liaisons. Another option is to call 311 and request to speak to the Special Education Call Center. If you get no action, it might be time to reach out to an advocate outside of the school system. Try calling the AFC helpline at (866) 427-6033, or contacting the Legal Aid Society, or another member of the ARISE coalition.
General education students who have been denied busing may complain to the OPT at (718) 392-8855. Know that while you are waiting to hear from them, you may be stuck with the existing bus routes. If a problem is particularly bad, you may want to contact an elected official, such as your City Council member.
For more information about busing, check our Basics on transportation or the Chancellor’s Regulation A-801.
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Hello,
My daughter attends a school in which she is bussed to and brought home. As stated in your letter; it’s only two weeks in the school year and there has been days when some of the students do not arrive home until after six due to “lack of a bus. A note went home telling parents that they will be giving some of our children a metro card. Our children have quite a distance to go. They would have to transfer to another bus and manipulate two dangerous streets. What options do we have?
Thank you for your time.
Comment by Michelle Reyes — September 23, 2009 @ 8:17 pm
This helps get information out, but it does not address the situation that many school students who ride the MTA Express Buses to out of borough schools are not able to use a Student Metrocard on the Epxress Buses this year (example: attending a high school in midtown of Manhattan when the student lives in the Bronx). This reduction in student transportation options was decided upon by the MTA in the summer, and had a small bit of press (NYTimes), but many schools were not informed of the change. Many students now take a bus/subway combination (sometimes 2 buses plus subway) which takes them to their school but can also take up to or over 2 hours morning and evening.
Comment by Karin Dando-Haenisch — September 23, 2009 @ 9:12 pm
Until yesterday I thought we had it pretty good. We live on the Lower West Side of Manhattan and our son was placed by the CSE at PS 59 in Midtown East. He was picked up at 7:00 and arrived at school at 8:00 in time for his Early Bird Sessions with teachers and breakfast. In order to get him to school by 8:00 AM on the subway we would have to leave at 7:20 anyway. Yesterday we were informed that his pickup time was being moved up to 6:30 to accommodate 3 additional students assigned to the bus. He is the first pickup on the route so as of this morning he is spending 1.5 hours on the bus in the morning. I’ll see what time he gets dropped off this afternoon. I can’t imagine that his schooling won’t suffer as a result of this change.
Comment by Tracy Balzano — September 24, 2009 @ 8:21 am
I have complained 4 times now (to the OPT). Each time I complain, the wait get approximately 15 minutes longer. Today my daughter wasn’t picked up until 8:20, after waiting downstairs since 7:20 for what I was told would be a 7:30 pickup.
Comment by joe — September 25, 2009 @ 9:42 am
Michelle Reyes, it sounds like your situation might qualify you for a Hazard Variance with the DOE. Using a “Request for Hazard Variance” form you can let the DOE OPT know that your children have to “manipulate two dangerous streets” everyday, and ask to have a new plan put in place.
For more info on Requests for Hazard Variances, check out my blog by clicking my name.
Comment by Graham K — September 25, 2009 @ 1:02 pm