1. Transporting Students with Disabilities and Preschoolers Conference and Trade Show March 24, 2015 How To Prevent Special Ed From Throwing Transportation Under The Bus Dr. Linda F. Bluth Past President - NAPT Special Initiatives Education Program Consultant Maryland State Department of Education Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services 1

2. How To Prevent Special Ed From Throwing Transportation Under The Bus Session Description This Session Will Focus On How To Prevent Special Education From Throwing Transportation Under The Bus And Visa Versa. Scenarios Will Address Complex Situations, That Are All To Common, That May Result In Unanticipated Consequences. 2

3. Communication Does Special Education And Transportation Have Regularly Scheduled Planning Meetings? Is There A System Of Communicating Information Between The Special Education And Transportation Offices? Is There An Individual That Serves As A Liaison Between The Special Education And Transportation Offices? Is There A Process For Parents To Communicate With The Special Education And Transportation Offices When There Is A Concern? When Transportation Is A Contracted Service, What System Of Communication Is In Place For School Personnel and Parents? 3

4. Communication MEMORANDUM: 2003 TO: State Directors of Special Education FROM: Stephanie Smith Lee, Director, Office of Special Education Programs SUBJECT: Ensuring Safe And Appropriate Transportation For Children With Disabilities “In meetings (and correspondence) with representatives of two major national transportation associations (i.e., the National School Transportation Association, and the National Association for Pupil Transportation), these representatives have expressed concerns that transportation providers are often not included in local school district plans or training related to transporting children with disabilities.” “Transportation providers play an integral role in the school lives of many children, including children with disabilities, which makes effective communication between the school and the providers essential. We believe that, for the safety and well-being of all children who ride school buses, including children with disabilities, it is crucial that they are appropriately and effectively transported by well-informed and well trained transportation providers.” 4

5. Communication Scenario A School Districts Special Education and Transportation Offices Are Knowledgeable That A (7) Seven-Year-Old Student Demonstrated Inappropriate Sexual Behavior On The School Bus The Previous School Year. The School District Does Not Share This Information, The Following School Year, With A New Bus Contractor. This Same Student, Is Observed On A Video Sexually Assaulting A Younger Child. Who Are The Potential Responsible Parties When A Law Suit Is Filed? 5

6. Communication Scenario A Parent Moves From New York To Texas Over The Summer And She Immediately Informs The Special Education Office That She Wants The Same Transportation Services That Her Child Received In New York. She Shares A Copy Of Her Child’s IEP. The Parent Complaints To The Transportation Office That She Is Not Receiving The Transportation Services She Wants. After All, She Discussed This When She Enrolled Her Child In His New School. What Went Wrong? 6

7. Doing What A Parent Wants When You Know It Is Wrong Commitments That Should Not Be Made Can Result In Startling Consequences Honoring A Doctor’s Request Prior To Discussing Transportation Implications Setting a Precedence That Cannot Be Maintained But Expected Year-After-Year 7 You Did It Last Year!

8. Doing What A Parent Wants When You Know It Is Wrong Scenario A Parent Insists That Her (5) Five-Year-Old Autistic Son Be Accompanied On His School Bus By His (8) Eight-Year-Old Sister. She Is Not Disabled. Mother Is Convinced That Her Autistic Son Will Have A More Successful School Bus Ride If Her Daughter Is On The School Bus In The Morning. Mother Or Father Pick Up Their Son Each Afternoon. Changes In Their Sons Previously Successful Bus Ride Came About Because There Is No Bus Attendant This School Year Due To Budget Cuts Made By The School Board. In The Past, Their Son Was On A School Bus That Had A Bus Attendant. Continued 8

9. Doing What A Parent Wants When You Know It Is Wrong Their Daughter Attends A School Four Blocks Away From Their Sons School. She Walks To Her School When She Gets Off The School Bus Each Morning. The Parents Both Requested That Their Daughter Be Transported To Her School After Their Son’s Drop-Off, But This Request Was Denied. Their Daughter Is Hit And Killed By A Teen Driver While Crossing A Dangerous Street On Her Way To School. Is The School District Liable For Their Daughters Death? 9

10. Doing What A Parent Wants When You Know It Is Wrong Scenario A Working Mother Of A (15) Fifteen-Year-Old Student With Severe Physical Limitations Requests That Her Son Be Dropped Off In Front Of His Home When No Parent Is Home To Assist Him Into The House. The Transportation Office Is Extremely Concerned Because This Student Struggles To Get Into His Home And Has Forgotten His Key On (7) Seven Occasions And Is Observed Waiting Outside His Home When The Bus Leaves. The School Principal Says, “Do It”. Do You Agree With This Decision? 10

11. Failing To Invite Transportation Staff To Attend IEP Meetings 33. Must A Public Agency Include Transportation In A Child's IEP As A Related Service? (Page 12479) “In determining whether to include transportation in a child's IEP, and whether the child needs to receive transportation as a related service, it would be appropriate to have at the IEP meeting a person with expertise in that area. In making this determination, the IEP team must consider how the child's disability affects the child's need for transportation, including determining whether the child's disability prevents the the child from using the same transportation provided to nondisabled children, or from getting to school in the same manner as nondisabled children.” 11

12. Failing To Invite Transportation Staff To Attend IEP Meetings Scenario A Student Attending A Special School For Children With Emotional Disturbance Has A History Of Being A Runner. The School District Special Education Department And School Building Staff Are Well Aware Of This Concern, As Is The Current School Bus Driver And Attendant. At The IEP Meeting, Planning For The Next School Year, Should Transportation Personnel Be Invited To Attend The IEP Meeting. This Student Will Be Riding With A New School Bus Driver And Attending A Regular School, In A Special Education Class. What Needs To Be Discussed At This IEP Meeting, To Assure A Safe Ride? 12

13. Impact Of Unilateral Decision-Making When It Involves Transportation Operations Scenario The Special Education IEP Team Commit To A Parent Request That The School Bus Pick Up A Child First And Drop Him Off Last, At The End Of The School Day. The IEP Team Is Trying To Assist This Single Parent By Not Having To Arrange For Before And After School Day Care. There Is No Day Care Available In Her Immediate Home Area That Will Accept Her Child. This Request Has Nothing To Do With The Child’s Disability. Transportation Is Not Informed About This Agreement That Is Written Into The IEP And Will Require An Additional School Bus To Arrive At School Prior To Bell Time In The Morning. This Is A Very Costly Commitment. Are Options Are Available For The School District To Make A Change? 13 $$$$$$$

14. Failing To Invite Transportation Staff To Attend IEP Meetings EXAMPLES OF LIABILITY RISKS Medically Fragile Students Intellectually Limited Students Autistic Students Students With Emotional Disturbance Students Whose Disabilities Impact The School Bus Ride 14

15. Impact Of Unilateral Decision-Making When It Involves Transportation Operations When All Is Said And Done, Is This Discrimination? The School Bus Driver Is Directed By The Principal To Allow Students With Disabilities To Leave Earlier Than The General Population. Students With Disabilities Leave Seven (7) Minutes Earlier Each School Day. What Do You Think? 15

16. May 08, 2013| The Baltimore Sun “City To Pay $100K To Family Of Boy Who Died In School Bus Fall” “City Solicitor George Nilson said school officials knew that Jeremy C. Jennings Jr., the emotionally disturbed 6-year-old, needed to be restrained on the bus but failed to do so.” “The family alleged that school officials knew Jeremy struggled with "impulse control" and had tried to jump from buses, but they did not follow their procedures and restrain him the day of the fatal fall. He died of head injuries two days after opening the door and falling from the moving bus Dec. 8, 2010. The family also alleged that officials did not implement his Individualized Education Plan, which required him to have a safety vest on the bus.” “City school officials said after the incident that the bus driver had broken protocol by not stopping the bus when Jeremy got up from his seat and that his license had been revoked.” 16

17. Examples Of Liability Consequences When Transportation Throws Special Education Under The Bus FAILURES ON THE PART OF TRANSPORTATION Failure To Implement A Known IEP Requirement Failure To Provide A Substitute Attendant Failure to Provide Driver & Attendant Training Based On Individual Student Disabilities And Special Needs Failure To Share Safety Information With A Substitute Driver Unknown Suspension From The School Bus Using Specialized Equipment Inappropriately 17

18. Examples Of Liability Consequences When Transportation Throws Special Education Under The Bus Scenario Transportation Office Changes Pick-up And Drop-off Location And Fails To Inform Special Education Department 18

19. How To Prevent Special Education From Throwing Transportation Under The Bus And Visa Versa 19 Communication

20. Questions And Answers 20

21. Thank You For Attending This Session 21 TSD