Q&A
Transportation challenges for students with disabilities in Summer Rising
1:24:16
·
3 min
Council Member Rita C. Joseph raises concerns about transportation issues for students with disabilities in the Summer Rising program, particularly the lack of busing after 3 PM when the program runs until 6 PM. DOE Deputy Chancellor Emma Vadehra acknowledges the challenge and explains the current solutions and limitations.
- Current bus contracts only provide transportation until 3 PM, while the Summer Rising program runs until 6 PM
- DOE provides rideshare options for mandated students (students with disabilities, in temporary housing, or in foster care) but acknowledges it's not ideal
- The department is exploring options like including chaperones for rideshares but faces limitations due to current bus contracts
- Long-term solution involves negotiating new bus contracts to allow for 6 PM busing, which is currently not possible
Rita C. Joseph
1:24:16
And we also know that our students with disabilities sometimes could not participate in the second portion because of transportation.
1:24:22
Is that something you guys are looking into?
Emma Vadehra
1:24:30
Sorry.
1:24:30
I was working on getting the attendance number.
Rita C. Joseph
1:24:32
It's 89.4%
Emma Vadehra
1:24:37
during the school year.
1:24:37
But as we said, we do think that's a different circumstance and are doing a lot of try and bring that number up as well.
1:24:44
Transportation, 6 PM transportation, is that what you were asking about?
Rita C. Joseph
1:24:47
Yes.
1:24:48
Especially with our students in students with disability who sometimes cannot participate in the second portion of summarizing because of transportation.
1:24:56
I think it stops running F Three.
1:24:58
And if the program ends at 6, they are and and that's that's a burden on a family as well.
1:25:03
So are is there anything in the works to say, I know some of I know we have rideshare, but, like, the children the students can't ride by themselves.
1:25:11
Right?
1:25:12
So it's a it's a catch 22.
Emma Vadehra
1:25:16
So as you know, we agree this is a real challenge and one that we have been working over the past few years to figure out what we can do to address within our current bus contracts, which I know you all also just spent a lot of time on, but I am going to touch on that because it is the core of the challenge.
1:25:32
Our under our current contracts, the busings at 3 PM, We have looked at various ways to address that.
1:25:38
As you know, what we really want to do is get new bus contracts that allows us to do many things, including 6 PM busing in summer, after school, all those kinds of things.
1:25:48
Happy to talk more about why we are not able to do that right now.
1:25:52
In the absence of that, which we have looked at a couple of times, we do provide rideshare for mandated students.
1:25:59
That's students with disabilities, students in temporary housing, students in the foster system.
1:26:04
We do work to make sure families realize that while that is not ideal, it is available right at the beginning of the application process so they understand what is possible for them and can plan around that.
1:26:17
And that is where we are at this moment.
1:26:20
We have looked and are continuing to look at whether there's versions of that that could include a chaperone or someone to avoid the need for a family member to go with the student.
1:26:31
That's not something we're currently doing.
1:26:33
We are looking at it.
1:26:35
When we do have a parent use it as you know, but just so others know, we do then also give the parent a ride back to wherever they need to go in addition to the ride with the school, with the student.
1:26:45
Still not ideal.
1:26:46
What we really need is new new contracts that allow us to do the 6 PM busing.
Rita C. Joseph
1:26:50
But the transportation has been going on since 2021.
1:26:53
So I I believe by now, we should have at least something in place.
Emma Vadehra
1:26:58
And what we have in place at this point is ride share that we're continuing to promote, make more easily accessible, improve the processes for.
1:27:06
But, yes, we we wanna fix this too with yell with real yellow buses.
Rita C. Joseph
1:27:10
And NNYC bus in the non pro non profit part can't pick up the kids at around 6.
Emma Vadehra
1:27:17
Not something we can do right now.
1:27:19
No.
1:27:19
It's so nice, boss, same as the others as the contracts, and they're not available to do that.
1:27:23
But this is top of our list for as we go into new contracts.
1:27:27
Jason, which we are not getting at this moment in time as you know.
