Q&A
Impact of new special education programs on busing costs
2:20:17
ยท
67 sec
Council Member Julie Won inquires about the impact of new District 75 schools on busing costs. DOE officials clarify that recent programs (Nest, Horizon, and Ames) are not District 75 schools but integrated programs within local public schools.
- New programs offer opportunities closer to students' communities
- These programs provide inclusive environments with access to general education peers
- It's too early to determine the impact on transportation costs as the pilot launched in September
- There are no noticeable differences in costs between NYCSBUS and traditional bus routes for special education
Julie Won
2:20:17
And with the changes in new district 75 schools that have opened, have you seen cost year to year go down as new schools have opened.
Gale A. Brewer
2:20:26
Howard Bauchner:
John Hammer
2:20:26
Yes, and so I appreciate the interest in this topic.
2:20:31
And I just want to clarify that the programs that I was speaking about earlier, Nest Horizon and Ames, those are programs that launched within local public schools rather than than district 75 schools.
2:20:42
So the benefits here are we're able to offer kids opportunities closer within their local communities, closer to home, but also in inclusive schools with access to their general education peers, which is something that we really appreciate.
2:20:58
I think things are early right now knowing that this pilot just launched in September to know what impact this is going to have on cost for exploration, but it is something that we're very interested in and we'll keep an eye on.
Julie Won
2:21:09
Have we noticed any differences for the NICE bus, for special education routes versus traditional bus routes?
2:21:18
No.
2:21:18
And costs or anything else?
Glenn Risbrook
2:21:21
No.
2:21:21
It's it's the same.
2:21:23
It's nothing different.
Julie Won
2:21:24
Okay.