Students with disabilities, according to IDEA, have twelve major categories of disabling conditions:
The Americans With Disabilities Act considers three categories of people with disabilities:
"Examples (include, but are not limited to,) individuals who are blind, hearing impaired or confined to a wheelchair. Persons with AIDS, HIV, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mental disorders or learning disabilities are also included as disabled for the purpose of the Act."
Although not included under the ADA, Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973(Public Law 93-112)and the school district does recognize some temporary disabilities as reasons for accommodations:
"No otherwise qualified handicapped individual...shall solely by reasons of his handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." (29 U.S.C. 794(a) 1973)).
Public school systems must ensure that their programs and facilities are accessible to parents, guardians, and members of the public with disabilities as well as to students. This requirement includes all programs, activities or services that are open to parents or to the public, such as parent-teacher organization meetings, plays and graduation ceremonies (Office of Civil Rights. U.S. Department of Education. Compliance With The Americans With Disabilities Act: A Self-Evaluation Guide for Public Elementary and Secondary Schools. U. S. Government Printing Office, page 159).
Parents of students with disabilities are central to the special needs transportation team. Parents have clearly defined responsibilities for their child to receive special needs bus service. Below is a listing of parental guidelines for their child to receive special needs transportation as a related service.
Parents Should:
Initiate requests for special needs transportation. Transportation is a related service and is considered during the IEP meeting. If your child requires special education transportation, the committee has determined that he or she cannot physically, mentally, or emotionally meet the requirements for regular education transportation. Special education transportation should not be considered for any child who is capable of riding the regular school bus.
Proactive school district personnel will survey your child’s needs, solicit your input and then ask about your preferences for school bus service for your child. They will identify the appropriate and available choices and fully explain those options to you as a parent.
Consider special education transportation during every IEP meeting or the Annual Reviews. All special education direct instruction and related services (including transportation) are supposed to be considered during these meetings for your student. Many times transportation service is NOT provided, NOT offered and NOT even thought of by professional special educators and administrators. You, as a parent, must bring transportation needs to the attention of the IEP team, if you believe that your child qualifies for transportation.
Stay updated and informed for their child's transportation services. Make your transportation service requests, changes, additions or deletions before signing off on the Individual Educational Program (IEP) or during the Annual Review.
Parents Should:
Accept responsibility for the school transportation services requested for their child. Special needs bus service is, at best, a shared responsibility between parents, the child, drivers, attendants and transportation coordinators, as well as special education school personnel.
Students with disabilities on the special education bus may ride with drivers, attendants, personal attendants, nursing personnel and other student riders. Some of these individuals may be present on the bus providing direct services, while others are behind the scenes and provide important supportive help. In addition to driver and attendant on board the school bus, other transportation personnel should always be treated with respect and courtesy. Parents do not ride with their own child but have a vastly important supportive role for a successful and safe student school bus ride.
Since both transportation and special education support personnel each have other responsibilities, have other duties, jobs and families, letting them know your schedule, your needs for bus service for your child as far ahead of time as possible will make your child's special needs bus experience smoother. Provide an authorized and responsible adult to accept the student, if you are not personally available during dropoff. Calls to let the driver or our bus coordinator know that your child will be absent or late will aid in your working relationship with special needs transportation personnel. Check with your child’s driver for his or her phone number, and contact the coordinator at 453-1030 or 1037, Monday through Friday.
Parents should:
Be appreciative of the work of the driver and assistant when services are appropriate. A verbal "thank you" or a card of appreciation is the type of little touches which make the interaction between people much more successful. So many people tend to complain. So few tend to compliment good service. School bus personnel need parental support, too.
Parents should:
Communicate their needs to the transportation coordinator who makes decisions and implements them for special education bus services. Don't go through an intermediary--be direct. The Special Needs Bus Coordinator can't assist you if the office is not informed of yours or your child's problems, your change of address, or changes in services that you are requesting. Likewise it is vital to let your special needs driver and/or bus attendant know about problems you are having. Waiting too long, waiting until the end of the week or the semester or the entire school year to discuss problems is a serious mistake. At that point little can be done to improve the services that have already been provided.
Parents should:
Document special transportation service eligibility. Provide any requested medical documentation in order to be eligible to receive specialized transportation services. Special needs students may require air conditioning due to health problems. A letter from your physician clearly stating this student health requirement should be made a part of the IEP or Annual Review meeting minutes.
Parents should:
Provide all student personal equipment. Parents are responsible to repair or replace equipment when maintenance is no longer possible or appropriate. For example, they must face the challenge to order a power-assisted wheelchair and then wait several months for delivery. What will the student use in the mean time to ride on the lift bus? Parents must provide alternative personal equipment including backup equipment to meet their child's needs.
A [school system] is NOT REQUIRED to provide individuals with disabilites with personal or individually prescribed devices, such as wheelchairs, prescription eyeglasses, or hearing aids, or to provide services of a personal nature, such as assistance in eating, toileting, or dressing (Civil Rights Division. U.S. Department of Justice. The Americans With Disabilities Act: Title II Technical Assistance Manual. U.S. Goverment Printing Office, 1993. Page15 [ADA-Title II-3.6200]).
Parents should:
Maintain student equipment. There many types of student equipment brought to the bus as student’s personal property to be transported with the child. While transporting all the necessary student personal equipment, the school transportation service is not responsible for the maintenance of student personal equipment.
Parents should:
Notify BOTH transportation AND school when their child will not ride. The parents call the building principal or school secretary and indicate that their student will not be riding the Special Needs bus. A parental call about their child not being on the AM bus should not imply that the child will not require PM bus service. Calling the bus driver or special education bus coordinator is the other call each parent should make whenever their special education student will not be attending, or who will be late that day or absent for more than three days. The bus coordinator must verify with parents and the driver/assistant team if service is expected for only part of the day.
Parents should:
Notify transportation about prolonged student rider absences. Absences among many special needs students commonly occur when they go to doctor’s appointments, for physical therapy and for other medical reasons. Many disabled students are absent more frequently than the because of their disabilities. Some students are absent for several weeks or months during hospitalization, surgery or recovery. When prolonged absences occur, the system provides Homebound Instruction as a supplement to school building-based special education services. Homebound instructed special education students do not receive special needs transportation services because those students are not transported outside their home for special education services.
Parents should:
Meet established school bus schedules. When school bus schedules are established for morning and afternoon transportation, and parents have been notified by the special education bus coordinator or by the driver or attendant, then parents are responsible to meet all established school bus schedules.
Make the child ready five (5) minutes before the route pickup each school day.
Wait, if necessary, during a ten (10) minute window for the bus to arrive before calling in to the coordinator. The ten (10) minute window includes five (5) minutes before and after the bus arrival time. Be aware that traffic patterns, new students to transport, route changes, substitute drivers, acts of nature and other things beyond the control of the driver can lead to occasional delays in student arrival or departures.
Adjust to bus time changes when notified by transportation.
Parents should:
Request changes related to special education bus service in a timely manner. Changing requests for service has a major impact on school bus schedules or how those changes will affect other passengers on the special education bus. Changes in pick-up or drop-off locations, sitters, movement from one residence address to another, all have direct impact on student pickup or dropoff sequence, and the times that students are delivered.
Parents should:
Be informed of their child's rights for transportation. Parents must be informed about transportation as a related service in the student's IEP. They must also understand what parts of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (I.D.E.A.-Public Law 101-376) applies to their situation. Special education transportation service endeavors to meet all of the complex requirements of federal and state laws that apply to special education transportation. There are often questions asked by parents, special educators and others regarding student rights as defined by law to receive transportation as a related service. Those questions must be resolved as they are received.
Service To Special
Education Students On Regular Buses:
Four (4) out of five (5) special education students who ride buses, do so on the regular bus. What services do special education students receive while on the regular bus? Here are some common regular or special education bus service comparisons:
Regular Buses:
Student riders including students in special education have a common neighborhood bus stop location.
Compared To Special Buses:
Student riders are picked up at their homes with curb-to-curb service. Both regular and special education buses service the same neighborhoods but have different bus stop locations. This confuses families who propose that the other brother or sister who is not in special education ride along on the special needs bus. Special education transportation is authorized on an individual, case-by-case basis. It is not provided to the general student population. Only if the other brother or sister is an identified special education student with a proven need for transportation can they be authorized to ride on a special needs bus. Special education transportation implies that the student cannot be safely transported on regular education school buses. Generally this applies to students with physical or severe mental disabilities, but in some cases applies to students with behavioral and emotional disabilities. Legally it is the most restrictive placement for a disabled child, which is the opposite of what the law actually requires.
Regular Buses:
Students have assigned seats. Seats are not seatbelt-equipped. On the regular bus up to three elementary students and two middle or high school students sit per seat. Three elementary students sitting on each bench seat determine bus capacity ratings. Larger regular buses typically have an 84 or 77 student "capacity." However, middle or high school students seat less than those capacity numbers.
Compared To Special Buses:
Each student is assigned a separate seat. Special education students might not sit with other students during their bus ride. An attendant, if needed, may accompany a student at the same seat. Each special needs student must use seat belts, harnesses or straps. Students using wheelchairs must use the wheelchair tie down system that fits the student's equipment. Wheelchair spaces have three-way (shoulder strap and lap belt) tie downs. With parental and IEP committee approval seat belt restraints can be used.
Regular Buses:
Use a single driver and have no attendants. Parents, teachers and others do not usually ride along unless on a field trip or extracurricular activity.
Compared To Special Buses:
A driver and an attendant are usually provided for special education buses. Special education teachers, instructional assistants, the principal or assistant principal, counselors and others may also ride the bus if approved by the Special Education Transportation Coordinator. The behavior management plan for individual special education students may include a requirement for another specific adult to ride with them at certain intervals or under behavioral crisis situations. Riders with severe behavior problems may require a third adult (a second bus attendant) to safely manage their bus ride between school and home.
Regular Buses:
Regular buses have no extra equipment in addition to the standard safety gear. Personal equipment brought by students must be safely secured if transported on the regular bus.
Compared To Special Buses:
Special buses have more specialized equipment in addition to the standard safety gear. Extra equipment includes lift equipment for students using mobility aids or wheelchairs, air conditioning for students with medical documentation for their heat or cold sensitivity, wheelchair securement equipment, seat belt restraints, child safety seats, pillows or pads and other individual student items. All extra equipment must be carefully stored or secured while in transit.
When parents or other responsible adults are not present to receive the student, then emergency dropoff procedures must be closely followed. Drivers link with the school or coordinator to call parents at work. This usually resolves the PARENTAL NO SHOW PROBLEM unless the parent has experienced an emergency. If it does not solve the problem, then further arrangements are made for delivering the student. The sending school is typically not the return site for a student who cannot be delivered home. Using the Bus Emergency Card, the Driver and Attendant must secure from the parents the names of others who are responsible to receive the student at home. An acceptable alternative during home dropoff is releasing a special education student to another adult authorized to receive. In the event that the child must be delivered somewhere other than the regular site, the individual(s) receiving the child must be named on the emergency card and must be capable of producing picture forms of identification. In some cases, parents will authorize a child to be released under their own supervision, if old enough and emotionally and physically capable. This is rare as the student who is capable of supervising or caring for themselves would probably be riding a regular education bus. If a problem with returning a student at a specified time happens too frequently, then the school system will involve the appropriate agencies (Department of Children’s Services, Department of Human Services, or the Sevier County Sheriff’s Department) in resolving the problem.