Bus

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Yup, another post from me about the bus.

DS is now being forced to leave class 5 minutes early at the end of every day. The bus driver (special needs bus) says he doesn't get to the bus fast enough, and she is apparently on some tight schedule that I don't fully understand (DS is not the best for explaining things). His teacher says the bus aide comes to the classroom door and rushes him along in a rude manner. This is not my spin, she actually said they are pushy and rude with him.
The driver has also threatened disciplinary action against DS, or to leave him behind at school.

The thing is, while I could understand DS being slow due to executive functioning issues, I don't even think that's what is going on. My impression is that this whole situation is about the school trying to squeeze too much out of a single bus route. DS rode the bus last year, and didn't have this problem.

I need help understanding what DS's rights are in this situation. Requiring him to leave class early every day in order to facilitate a bus route does not seem right to me.

Are you sure? Is it possible for you to go observe?

I am at the school many days when they are loading the special needs kids on their bus at my daughters school. She doesn't ride this bus, but I have seen the loading procedure many times. The kids on the special needs bus ARE all removed from class 5-10 minutes early and loaded on the bus, the bus is often gone before the rest of the children are dismissed. Being at the school at dismissal most days shows me quickly why this is the case- at dismissal there is a huge catastrophic rush of kids coming out and I can only imagine what it would be like for SOME of those special needs kids if they got caught up in that. The other kids are all rude and crazed when school lets out. It would be an unmitigated train wreck for the special needs kids if they weren't out and on the bus before the bell rings. While the catastrohpic rush out of school might be ok for some kids (like maybe your son) it would be very very hard to manage for some or many of the others. They probably take them all out in groups or all at once to put them on.

I would say the main concern should be the rude bus aid. There is no need to be rude. But if your school is anything like my daughters, I don't think there is any helping the leaving 5-10 minutes early to get on the bus. It makes total sense to me, having been there and seen it.

When communication is lacking with the school or your child, go in and check it out. IT's the easiest way to get answers.

Update: there seems to be some kind of miscommunication at the school, because the administration is telling me DS does not have to leave class early. He was doing so for a while, and now he is not, but the driver told him yesterday he must do it again. But apparently she is wrong. I wonder what will happen when school gets out today.


CWA - My son is a sensory-seeking dude, so the crowds and noise don't bother him. Could be a distraction for him, though.

I may be wrong, but it sounds to me like the bus driver has decided this, and executed it rogue. Maybe the teacher complained to the powers that be, and they had no clue this was happening and put a stop to it.

It may have to do with the bus driver or aide being annoyed and not anything the school has decided. It should be easy enough if that is the case, to communicate to the teacher and ask that she make sure the bus driver aide is told she cannot have him early, if she makes the attempt.

I would look at it that this is a cheap thing for the school. If it is bothering your child a lot, since transportation is part of what they are individualizing for him, maybe could you ask them about the teacher or aide walking him and other kids to the door? I don't see why that couldn't be done, and not until the day is over. Gets around whatever the aide or driver is doing. Leaves the teacher in charge during the school day.....which I think should be happening.

Is the aide new? Does your child's school charter the bus from another school district or private busing company? Does the aide have any sort of therapeutic background or are they just a warm body hired off the street?

Personally, I'd talk to the school and have them talk to whomever is responsible for providing busing. It's not okay to push around special needs kids IMO. Hopefully this will work itself out though but I'd mention your concerns to the powers that be.

FWIW we just recently went through something like this as well. The bus trip for him stopped at a variety of schools and a single bus ride could top out at over 2 hours because of traffic. We also had several aides come and go. Eventually it worked itself out, but I think a big part of it was my son's antsiness over having to ride so far, another kid in a different school getting assigned his own bus and my son's school following through on a complaint from me.

Transportation for school districts is usually managed at the district level - I would try calling your district office and asking to speak to the transportation director. Normally, it's better to try to get things done by going up the hierarchy, but usually transportation is outside of the typical school hierarchy and your teacher and principal probably don't have any more effect on it than you will.

You may be able to get the facts and then clear this up quickly.

Unless there is a really pressing need they should not be preventing a child being independent and functioning as independently as possible. I would definitely ask them to explain whether this is absolutely necessary. Otherwise he deserves the least restrictive environment.

Sorted. He's going to get his stuff together before last period, and bring it to class. Then he can leave when everyone else does, and the aide won't pick him up. He's still not very happy with that solution, but I am.

Nice work! Am glad it was an easy solution!

Cool

Nice!

But why is he unhappy?