PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Tanisha Grant, Executive Director of Parents Supporting Parents New York, on School Bus Transportation Services
4:02:25
·
133 sec
Tanisha Grant, speaking as a mother and grandmother of a child with special needs, highlighted persistent issues with school bus services for children with disabilities. She emphasized the frequent breakdowns, inconsistent service at the start of each school year, and the financial burden on families when alternative transportation is needed.
- Grant stressed the need for stable and reliable bus services, especially for children eligible for specialized transportation.
- She called for better oversight and accountability in bus company contracts to ensure consistent service delivery.
- The testimony underscored the disproportionate impact of unreliable transportation on families of children with special needs, citing personal experiences with her grandson.
Tanisha Grant
4:02:25
Hello.
4:02:25
My name is Tanisha Grant.
4:02:27
I am the executive director of parent support and parent nurse New York.
4:02:31
Thank you chair for having this very important meeting on contracts.
4:02:37
I'm I'm talking I'm coming to you personally as a mother and grandmother, the grandmother of a eight year old grandson who happens to be nonverbal and on high on the spectrum just this morning's chair.
4:02:51
My daughter called me, and I had to send her a couple of dollars to get my grandson to school because the breast broke down.
4:02:58
This type of thing happens all the time.
4:03:02
It's really confusing that every start of the school year, you know, our children with special needs are not getting the bus in that they deserve.
4:03:11
It's always an issue.
4:03:12
Throughout the school year, my daughter will have to call me several times because I will have to pay for my grandson and my power to get to school because nobody's getting on a train.
4:03:22
He he doesn't really like the noise.
4:03:24
Went on a train, so we have to do a whole bunch of things to make sure that he gets to school.
4:03:29
Bus services should be stable.
4:03:35
It shouldn't be every year Parents know, grandparents know, care providers know that they're gonna have a problem with their business situation.
4:03:45
When we talk about these contracts, we have to understand, and we have to make sure that the contracts that we are giving out, the contracts that the city is giving out to the bus companies, you know, are upheld by the bus company's decent work of providing bus service.
4:04:05
Now we know things happen, and sometimes this happens and sometimes that happen.
4:04:09
But here's Joseph.
4:04:10
What I'm saying is it happens too often.
4:04:13
Too often, our children, especially our children that are eligible for bus services.
4:04:21
Do not get the bus services they need.
4:04:23
So, again, I appreciate you having this hearing, and I look forward to continuing to work with the with the council and work with our comrade to make sure that every child that is eligible for Boston gets the great bus and services that
Ellen McHugh
4:04:39
they need.
