transportation issues

[happymomof2]

My difficult child is not in self contained as of this year. He is on a regular ed school bus. He walks down the street to his girlfriends house and rides that bus. I cleared that with transportation before school let out last year. Now this bus driver informed him this afternoon that he can no longer ride her bus because it is overcrowded.

The bus he is suppose to ride has kids that I don't want him hanging with in the mornings. Plus the one kid he got arrested with last November rides that bus and last year was making threats to beat my difficult child up due to the trouble they got into. I called my difficult child's former probation officer asking if anything can be done and he said no because he isn't on probation anymore "he just has to be mature enough not to have contact with him". How the heck do you avoid contact if your on the same stinking bus???

If I have to end up taking him to school everyday I will but I would really like him to be able to ride the bus if possible. I have a call in to transportation and am waiting a call back.

Any ideas? He is still under the IEP umbrella - can transportation fall under that?

Thanks

 

[smallworld]

Transportation is considered a related service for IEP purposes. It is usually -- but not always -- put into an IEP when a child requires a special service while riding the bus (for example, wheelchair ramp for a disabled child or aide to keep children safe) or when a child must be transported to a program or school outside his home school for Special Education purposes. I would recommend checking in with the high school case manager who oversees your difficult child's IEP to see what might be able to be arranged.

 

[Sheila]

Smallwood is correct. If your child has an IEP, transportation is a related service.

However, if transportation is not written into the IEP, it does not have to be provided.

Selecting a specific bus because of preference or conflicts is different. If it's written vaguely into the IEP, all they have to do is provide it. Unless there are severe problems or disabilities, most transportation is via a regular bus on a regular route.

Informal agreements with a sd can result in an unsuspecting parent having their child kicked off the bus. What I mean by that is you would need to call an IEP meeting to have the change written into the document. It perhaps could be done via the new, less formal method, e.g., for minor changes to the IEP the parent and school district can agree to the change via written agreement rather than having a full blown meeting.

When transportation is in the IEP, unless specified, the sd can transport by any means, e.g., another bus, same bus with-1:1 aide;taxi, medi-vac, etc. Likewise, in cases where the school decides they don't want to bus a difficult child for whatever reason, the parent can demand that the student be transported to school safely.

 

[Andy]

Have you told the bus company why he was on this other bus? They don't want problems on the bus. Let them know that there is a real possibility of confrontations on the bus if he rides that one. That you are trying to avoid a fight?