For four weeks now yellow school buses have not been running and parents of special education students are fed up. They are asking Chancellor Dennis Walcott to intervene and work with Mayor Bloomberg to get the buses running again.

In a letter sent to the chancellor on Monday by the Citywide Council on Special Education -- a parent advisory board -- the CCSE said that what it finds most "appalling about this is that you and the Mayor believe that the DOE has no responsibility in the current bus strike negotiations."

For many students with special needs, transportation is a mandated service stipulated on a students IEP (Individualized Education Plan). Alternative modes of transportation, such as taxicabs and car services, are not working out for many families, the CCSE said.

One out of every four of the most severely disabled students in District 75 is missing school due to the lack of bus service, the letter says. That echoes testimony given at a City Council hearing last Friday by Maggie Moroff of Advocates for Children and the ARISE Coalition.In an editorial in today's Daily News, Moroff writes that some 2,500 District 75 students are missing school every day.

"The city offered no plan for students who needed accessible transportation, no plan for children who needed an adult to accompany them to school and did not have a parent available, no plan for families with more than one child in different schools and no plan for families who could not afford to put out carfare twice a day and wait for reimbursement," Moroff writes.

For more on the bus strike, seeGotham School's round upand Advocates for Children. Read the Daily News editorial here and see the CCSE's letter after the jump.

Citywide Council on Special Education

February 10, 2013

Dennis M. Walcott

Chancellor

New York City Department of Education

52 Chambers Street

New York, NY 10007

Dear Chancellor Walcott:

We are writing this letter to remind you of our statutory duty to advise and comment on

educational policy involving the provision of services for students with disabilities. Specialized

transportation is a mandated service as part of a student’s IEP. This service has not been

provided for the last 4 weeks. At the Busing Forum on 2/5/13 sponsored by the Bronx Borough

President, we heard firsthand the horror stories and the emotional and psychological impact the

busing strike is having on children and parents. Transportation alternatives offered to parents

by OPT, i.e., taxis or car services, are either not taking any more calls or do not go to places like

Co-op City. You were reminded by Councilwoman Debi Rose at the SI PEP Meeting on 2/6/13

that 1 out of every 4 children in District 75 are missing instruction. This is happening not only in

Staten Island but, in every borough of NYC. Please understand that the Department of

Education is in violation of IDEA. Parents are considering legal action since they have been left

with no alternatives other than exercising their due process rights under the law.

What we find most appalling about this is that you and the Mayor believe that the DOE has no

responsibility in the current bus strike negotiations. The decision made by the Court of Appeals

regarding Pre-K had nothing to do with school-aged children. As our Chancellor, you are first

and foremost responsible for providing quality, mandated services on IEP’s over saving costs.

The savings that you’re estimating clearly does not take into effect the destruction and havoc

that the long term damage that we, as parents will inherit as a result of your failure to resolve a

problem that is within your control. This is all taking place under your watch on the backs of our

most vulnerable children during the coldest months of the year.

What little trust, if any, is all gone as parents will not allow their children to get on a school bus

with drivers and matrons who have not been properly vetted. You are now putting the safety of

our children at risk. As co-authors and collaborators of the training modules for the drivers and

matrons, we expect to see the same and know that the bus companies transporting our children

are qualified, trained and experienced professionals that have a track record of transporting

children with various disabilities.

We request that you urge the Mayor to reconsider his position so you can take responsibility for

your role in fulfilling our children’s IEP and participate during this time to resolve the bus strike in

the most expeditious manner possible.

Very truly yours,

The Citywide Council on Special Education