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Chicago Public Faculties officers blame the dearth of transportation for college students with disabilities this yr on the nationwide bus driver scarcity, a bus driver strike, and a vendor pulling routes, in response to a grievance filed to the Illinois State Board of Training.
The district has been underneath fireplace for the previous few years for failing to offer bus routes to hundreds of scholars with disabilities. The issue has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and has led to the district reducing bus service for normal schooling college students and offering stipends to households who’ve youngsters with disabilities to pay for transportation.
Final month, particular schooling advocates filed a grievance with the state board alleging that CPS is in violation of a federal legislation that requires districts to offer transportation providers for college students with disabilities. It’s the newest of a number of complaints associated to busing filed up to now three years.
Chicago Public Faculties responded to the newest grievance on Sept. 27 outright denying that they’ve denied college students with disabilities a Free and Applicable Public Training. CPS stated it has ongoing challenges with busing college students as a result of a scarcity of bus drivers and up to date points with distributors that present transportation for Chicago college students.
SCR is the district’s largest paratransit vendor that gives bus providers to college students with disabilities, making up 45% of the district’s drivers and buses. However between Aug. 16 and Sept. 9, SCR staff went on strike due to what they stated have been low wages and unfair labor practices.
Within the letter, Chicago officers stated the district couldn’t use SCR buses initially of the college yr as a result of strike. After the strike, the variety of bus routes provided to Chicago college students decreased. Final yr, SCR had 164 bus routes; now the seller solely operates about 65 routes for Chicago colleges as a result of a lack of drivers, the college district stated in its response to the state grievance.
One other vendor, Prepare dinner Dupage Transportation, which makes up about 13% of the district’s fleet , notified the district over the summer season that it could not bus Chicago college students this faculty yr.
Regardless of the challenges, the district stated, about 2,500 extra college students with disabilities — a rise of 32% — have been placed on a bus route compared with final yr.
Nonetheless, in accordance with the district’s transportation information, 1,099 college students with disabilities have been nonetheless ready to obtain a bus route, as of Sept. 23. The district stated 10,051 had been routed, and 1,122 college students have been receiving non permanent compensation.
Terri Smith-Roback, one of many particular schooling advocates who filed the grievance, stated in an interview with Chalkbeat that the district’s bus driver scarcity is ongoing and officers ought to have discovered artistic methods to bus college students earlier than the beginning of faculty.
The state board “ought to say that this grievance is substantiated and compel the district to proceed to offer information round what they’re doing to enhance the state of affairs,” stated Smith-Roback. “I don’t need them to sanction the district with cash or something like that. I simply need them to carry them accountable.”
The grievance from Smith-Roback and Miriam Bhimani, one other particular schooling advocate, outlined the dearth of communication between Chicago households and the district, noting hour-long wait occasions for the district’s transportation hotline. The grievance additionally famous that Chicago required college students with Individualized Training Packages to have a transportation request “on file,” a contradiction to what they advised state officers in Could.
Smith and Bhimani’s grievance alleged a widespread denial of a Free and Applicable Public Training — assured to college students with incapacity underneath federal legislation — to Chicago college students who’ve transportation providers of their Individualized Training Packages.
The Illinois State Board of Training opened an investigation a number of days after Smith and Bhimani submitted it. The state board is required to research and submit its findings inside 60 days in accordance with federal legislation.
Transportation was a priority raised by educators in the course of the public remark portion of the Chicago Board of Training assembly final week.
Kirsten Roberts, a preschool instructor at Brentano Elementary faculty, stated that considered one of her college students who has a incapacity missed the primary 5 weeks of the college yr as a result of the scholar didn’t have a bus route.
Roberts advised the Chicago Board of Training that academics, faculty directors, case managers, and the scholar’s mother or father known as and despatched emails to the Chicago Public Faculties’ Workplace of Transportation in an effort to get bus service for the scholar.
“This scholar with disabilities won’t ever get again the primary 5 weeks of preschool, the community-building, the training of routines, the bonding with associates and academics,” Roberts advised the board.
After talking on the board assembly, Roberts discovered that the scholar later acquired a bus route.
Chicago Public Faculties has struggled to bus college students with disabilities since 2021 when college students returned to school rooms after the pandemic closed faculty buildings.
Since then, the district has prioritized busing college students with disabilities and those that are experiencing homelessness, as these college students’ proper to obtain bus service is protected by federal legislation. However even college students legally entitled to transportation have hit many roadblocks to receiving bus routes over the previous a number of years.
Samantha Smylie is the state schooling reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago overlaying faculty districts throughout the state, laws, particular schooling and the state board of schooling. Contact Samantha at ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.
