Transportation as a Related Service Leanne Grillot, Senior Educational Program Director Bureau of Exceptional Educational and Student Services Jennifer Barnhill, Program Specialist

Goal: Helping Students with IEP’s and Staying Compliant You will walk away with understanding: Transportation related to students with disabilities under IDEA Transportation as a related service Parent rights regarding compliance

Do all students with disabilities have the right to transportation? Eligibility criteria for funding, 1011.68, F.S. The student lives two or more miles from school. The student is classified as a student with a disability under the IDEA, regardless of distance (does not apply to students who are only gifted). The pregnant student or student parent is enrolled in the teenage parent program. The student is enrolled in an IDEA or prekindergarten program. The student is a career and technical education, dual enrollment or exceptional education student.

What laws govern the transportation of students with disabilities? Title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 300.34 and Rule 6A-6.03411, F.A.C. Title 34 CFR §300.34 and Rule 6A-6.03028, F.A.C. Rule 6A-3.0171, F.A.C.

What is transportation under IDEA? 34 CFR §300.34 and Rule 6A-6.03411, F.A.C. Transportation is: A related service required to assist a student with a disability to benefit from special education.

What does transportation include as a related service for students eligible for special education and under the IDEA? 34 CFR §300.34 and Rule 6A-6.03028, F.A.C. Transportation includes: travel to and from school and between schools travel in and around school buildings specialized equipment such as special or adapted buses, lifts and ramps, if required to provide special transportation for a child with a disability

How will Sally get to and from school? Sally is a student in second grade. She has a disability but does not need special transportation, and it is not included in her IEP. Her family lives less than one mile from school. The school district does not provide transportation to students living less than a mile from school.

Do most children with disabilities and IEPs need special transportation? No. Most children with disabilities are able to use the same transportation system as their classmates who don’t have disabilities. Sometimes just adding special equipment or aides to school bused is all that is required of a student with a disability. Ramps Lifts Harness Special day school Curb or door drop off

Does an exceptionality define a child’s behavior? If you know one child with autism, you know one child with autism. Spectrum Same can be true about all of these exceptionalities – individual Would the student need special transportation? CP – not necessarily needing special transportation, might need a ramp or lift or nothing at all. DHH – Might need a bus driver who signs

Students with Transportation as a Related Service

Can parents request that the vehicle providing the transportation have specialized equipment? One issue that arises is air-conditioning for students with disabilities.  Climate-controlled transportation is not explicitly required under the IDEA.  State Complaint However, if an IEP team determines that a child needs climate-controlled transportation to receive special education services, related services, or both, and the child’s IEP specifies that such transportation is necessary, the school district must provide this special transportation at no cost to the parents.  Similarly, climate-controlled transportation is not required under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Section 504) unless a child with a disability has an identified need for this transportation.  However, the transportation of nondisabled children in climate-controlled buses, while children with disabilities are transported in separate buses that are not climate-controlled, might raise issues of disability discrimination under Section 504.

Who determines whether transportation services are required and how should those services be implemented? The parents of the student The regular education teacher of the student One special education teacher of the student A representative of the public agency An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results At the discretion of the parent or the agency, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate The student The IEP Team is responsible for determining if transportation is required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education and related services, and how the transportation services should be implemented. The IEP should describe the transportation services to be provided, including transportation to enable a child with disabilities to participate in nonacademic and extracurricular activities in the manner necessary to afford the child an equal opportunity for participation in those services and activities to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of that child.

Does Joseph have the right to transportation if he attends a private school? Joseph is in 7th grade and has a learning disability. He received the McKay Scholarship. His mother placed him at a private school. My son goes to private school. Does he still have the right to transportation?

Confidential Information IDEA requires that the educational records of a student with a disability be kept confidential, with a right of access to parents and participating agencies. See handout that addresses Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), IDEA, F.S.

Confidentiality Remember that confidentiality laws only allow transportation to talk to the parent about their child. Confidential information includes the child’s name, family information, grades, medical information, etc. See handout that addresses Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), IDEA, F.S.

Let’s Practice What do you say??? A parent, Mrs. Brown, is upset that her son was suspended from the bus for fighting. She wants to know what happened to the other student. Mrs. Brown knows that the other student is a student who receives special educational services because she volunteers at the school. She wants to make sure that he isn’t getting “special” treatment. What do you say???

“As you know, confidentiality laws only allow me to talk about your child with you.”

Students Without Transportation as a Related Service

Carol has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Carol has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Sometimes she acts without thinking. She rides to school on the bus with her neighborhood friends. Carol’s IEP includes a behavior intervention plan (BIP) to help her learn to follow bus rules. Are the bus driver and the bus aide required to receive training to carry out Carol’s behavior plan? Who is responsible for putting the behavior plan into action as part of the IEP?

Districts’ Review for Compliance ESE Policies and Procedures (SP&P) This requires that school districts submit a proposal of procedures for the provision of special instruction and services for exceptional students http://beess.fcim.org/sppDistrictDocSearch.aspx

Districts’ Review for Compliance Desktop Monitoring Self-assessment is the process where districts review critical components of their ESE programs. Self-assessment is the process whereby districts undertake the review of critical components of their ESE programs. This is accomplished by completing the applicable protocols to determine the level of compliance with federal and state laws, rules, and regulations regarding procedures related to exceptional student education. Districts are responsible for conducting the self- assessment and for identifying and reporting on required corrective actions.

Parent Rights Regarding Compliance Parents and advocates file state complaints when they believe districts are not compliant Developing the IEP Implementing the IEP Parents filing due process Challenging IEP decisions

Questions???

Thank you! Leanne Grillot 850-245-0475 Jennifer Barnhill Senior Educational Program Director Dispute Resolution and Monitoring Bureau of Exceptional Educational and Student Services Florida Department of Education Jennifer Barnhill Program Specialist