It seemed too good to be true. It happened all too smoothly. Well, pretty smoothly. And sure enough, it exploded last night.
Last April, after putting up with Max's hour and twenty minute bus ride to a school that is 15 minutes away from our home, I succeeded in having a shorter ride written into his IEP. Yes, you can do that; I hadn't known until I ranted about it on the blog Facebook page and other parents mentioned it. I got letters from Max's doctors explaining why long bus rides were not good for him physiologically or psychologically.
The next challenge, of course, was making sure a shorter ride actually happened—per the IEP, Max had to be one of the last kids on the bus in the morning and one of the first ones off. Sure, this was now an Actual Legal Thing, but we all know how that can go. And so, I contacted our transportation department at the end of June to get the ball rolling and make sure everyone was on board. I spoke with them in July again, and then in early August.
This is where things got good. Actually good. After I emailed our district's transportation coordinator and cc'd the principal and other key players a few weeks ago, she emailed right back to say she was coordinating a route with the bus people. Last week, I reached out again. And the coordinator emailed to say that she'd heard from the bus company and Max would be getting picked up about 45 minutes later than he had been, shortening his route to school to about 40 minutes. He'd have the same driver as last year, who'd been perfectly fine. I felt like I'd won the lottery.
A day later, I received a letter from the bus company stating the same. This was nothing short of miraculous, given that the bus company's usual m.o. was to have the driver inform the parent the day before school started when pickup time would be. One year, the driver called at 10:00 p.m. the night before.
I thanked our district's transportation coordinator. I emailed a thank you note to the new director of the bus company. I'd say that I jinxed us except a mess-up seemed inevitable.
My phone rang at 7:15 p.m. last night. It was Max's bus driver letting me know she would be picking up Max at the same time as last year and that the route was the same.
After all that.
Nope, I told her. I had gotten a letter with the correct time. Ah, but no, she said, that route wouldn't work. I asked her if she knew what an IEP was. I explained that Max's bus needs had been written into the IEP and that the bus company had a legal obligation to follow the IEP.
Then I sent an email to the transportation coordinator and cc'd the usual suspects and the new director at the bus company. I noted that even if there was miscommunication, it was troubling because no parent wants to think that staffers at a bus company are not clearly communicating about their child's needs.
A few minutes later, a supervisor in our district emailed to say they would get to the bottom of this. And you know, they will and they have to and I'm sure it will all be OK by Thursday morning, when Max starts school. I think?
But for the bazillionth time I wonder: WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO HARD?!
I feel this so much right now. I am currently headed to university on an accessible bus that has put me through the ringer with similar situations. Keep on advocating, mama! Regardless, I hope Max has a good day (and year) despite this drama. Hopefully things are corrected soon!!
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DeleteI so hope your ride improves! The director of the transportation department emailed this morning to say the situation had been resolved and apologized for the confusion, and that Max would be picked up at the new time we'd been told. I'll believe it when I see it!
Unfortunately, this is all too common. Even with adult transportation. The route is decided upon who they think needs picked up first. A 90 minute ride is very long to our standards, but it can also be the lack of drivers too.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in school, there would be an initial route in September and a driver, and in October, they would mysteriously change the route to pick up different kids and sometimes I didn't get home until late. In high school, the bus driver took it upon herself to change the route to pick us up from school at 315 (we got out at 230) and I wasn't home until 430. I started taking the city bus soon after and got home at 330. When I started driving, I at home by 3 tops. Took 15 minutes to drive 15 miles. I did end up taking a friend home (she lived about 35 miles from the school) and got to be free of all bus routes that way.
I think they pack a lot of kids into the bus, and it should be two routes instead of one—but I am sure they are looking to save money.
DeleteWhen I switched schools in 7th grade to get away from bullying my mom hsd to drive me 20 minutes from home to the bus stop. Then in the mornings the bus ride was about 20-30 minutes. In the afternoon the bus ride was 1.5 hours. Because I left my assigned school I was not able to get any sort of accomodation with the transportation situation. This was made worse by the fact that the bus driver's daughther was also a student and bullied me horribly, including throwing stuff at me and threatening to kill me. Since this was the school of last resort for most kids nothing much was ever done. Went back to my old school for 8th and at least no bus! I hope Max has a much better experience! And perhaps an aide to watch out for him?
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to you was awful and unacceptable, and I'm sorry you went through that. I'd like to think it couldn't have happened today, with the increased awareness about bullying. There is an aide on the bus and the other students are really nice, so that's one issue we don't have to contend with.
DeleteThis morning my sons bus driver and aide had no idea that my son has epilepsy and a vns implant. They also sat my son next to another student who has aggressive out bursts. This student has in the past school year tried many times to hit my son while on the bus. Once was even with a seat belt. I already called the director of special education and transportation offices, and the bus company. I was told that the bus driver and aide will be trained and that my son seat will be moved away from the aggressive student. I am in New York. I
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable. Make sure they update you on how the training goes. And ask who is doing the training, i.e., are they qualified. Wishing you and your son a far better trip tomorrow.
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