PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Alexandra Rapisarda, Senior Attorney at Brooklyn Defender Services, on School Transportation Challenges for Students in Foster Care
2:57:48
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3 min
Alexandra Rapisarda from Brooklyn Defender Services testifies about the transportation challenges faced by students separated from their families by ACS and placed in foster care. She emphasizes the need for guaranteed and timely bus services to maintain school continuity for these vulnerable students.
- Highlights the importance of school stability for children in foster care
- Criticizes the DOE's refusal to guarantee bus service and long routing delays
- Advocates for immediate transportation solutions to prevent school transfers and absences
- Calls for better coordination between DOE and ACS to ensure uninterrupted school attendance
Alexandra Rapisarda
2:57:48
My name is Ali Rapasarta, and I'm a senior attorney in the education practice at Brooklyn Defender Services.
2:57:54
Thank you, Cheers, Joseph, and Cheers Wang for holding this hearing and the opportunity to testify.
2:58:00
BDS's education practice delivers legal representation and informal advocacy to our school age clients and to parents of children in New York City schools.
2:58:11
Will many of our clients and their children struggle to access transfer services within the DOE.
2:58:18
I wanna focus today specifically on the transportation challenges for students and families separated by ACS.
2:58:26
When children are removed from their families and placed in the foster system or with another family member, continuity and school placement can be an important source of stability during a period of great upheaval.
2:58:40
Many students and family is separated by ACS currently receive busing, but the DOE has refused to guarantee bus service or another comparable mode of transportation to these students.
2:58:54
The DOE must make that guarantee.
2:58:57
Furthermore, even when these students do eventually receive busing, delays in the ropes can be hugely destabilizing to students who are already in crisis.
2:59:07
The DOE takes 5 to 7 days at minimum to route a student.
2:59:12
But in our experience, it actually it often takes significantly longer than a week for bus service to actually begin.
2:59:20
While waiting for a bus, Students either miss school or they end up transferring to a school near their temporary foster placement.
2:59:28
ACS and foster agencies often encourage families to agree to a school transfer out of convenience and not what is best for a child, and families are made to feel that they have no say in the matter.
2:59:42
Children and families separated by ACS are among the most at risk for suspension, chronic absenteeism, and school dropout of any group in the DOE system.
2:59:54
At a bare minimum, busing must be guaranteed for these students.
2:59:59
But procedures must also be put in place to ensure that these students do not miss school before busing is arranged.
3:00:08
Our office works with the parent of a six year old student in the foster system who was eligible for busing.
3:00:14
But who missed over a month of school when well, the DOE looked for a bus route for him.
3:00:21
The foster resource was unable to bring the child to school even the DOE provided car service And though the foster agency had been ordered to transport him while awaiting a route, they failed to do so.
3:00:36
The DOE must work together with ACS to ensure not only that car services are available for students who are waiting a bus route, but that if a foster resource or relative is unable to bring the child to school, that chaperone transportation is also available.
3:00:54
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on this critically important topic I've elaborated on some of these issues in my written testimony, and I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have.
