Special Education Transportation

UpdatesMt. Diablo USD

August 20, 2012

- Review Previous Special Education Transportation System

- Current Board Policy and Administrative Regulations

- Pertinent CA and Fed Laws re Transportation- California Cases- Transportation Nuances/Gray Areas- IEP Procedures re Special Ed Transportation- Hypotheticals

Overview/Agenda

In past, IEP teams have lacked guidance/structure as to how to analyze whether a particular student with an IEP needs transportation as a related service.

In addition, teams have not been fully aware of the continuum of options for special education transportation.

There has been no system to document the specific needs of individual students in relation to transportation.

History of District’s Special Ed Transportation

FCMAT Findings

• Apportionment and General Fund Contribution• State Ave California 35%/District

65%• Apportionment vs. Costs (10/11)

• Home to School 1.1 mil vs. 1.7 mil• SD/OI 1.1 mil vs. 7.1 mil

• Btwn 10/11 and 11/12• Home to School Routes Decreased

(21-12)• SD/OI remained the same (58)• SD/OI mileage went up

• 11/12 Transported 1031 SD/OI Students

• 26% of Special Education Students Rcvd Transportation

• 140+ parents received reimbursement

AA Med Transport/Vee CareTransportation for students who are • medically fragile • Require specialized

medical transportation

AA Med Trans $416,000 Vee Care $19,800

Pawar• Fremont School for

the Deaf• NPS outside District

Boundaries• Alternative to

District Transport for Unique Needs

• Students at sites within district that were unable to be served by district resources

$1,890,000 Cost range from $40-$180 per student per trip

2011/2012 Elementary Special Day Class

Locations

2011/2012 Elementary Special Day Class

Locations

Added Elementary SDC/LH Continuum in Bay Point

Placed Students Back at or Near Their Home School (allowing for IDAs)

Eliminated Parent Option to Transport with Reimbursement

Discontinued Transporting Students Who Attend Home School (except those who meet eligibility)

We have Already Made Some Progress

2012/2013 Elementary Special Day Classes

Federal Regulations define special education transportation as a related service. It is required to be provided as a related service if it is required to assist a child with a disability benefit from special ed.

IDEA broadly defines special ed transportation: travel to/from school/between schools, travel in/around school buildings; and specialized equipment if required to provide special education transportation for a child with disability.

IDEA does not explicitly define transportation as door to door or aide to escort child to/from bus. This decision is left up to discretion of IEP team.

Federal Law

Ed Code 41850(d) – severely disabled SDC pupils and orthopedically impaired pupils who require a vehicle with wheelchair lift

Ed Code 41850(b)(5) – home to school transportation services

CDE’s Transportation Guidelines (includes reference to students with OHI, SLD or cognitive disabilities or pupils who live beyond reasonable distance to their school and would not, without transportation, have access to appropriate special education instruction and related services at no cost)

California Law

Student v. LAUSD, OAH Case No. 2011010405

District was not required to provide Student eligible for special education as SLD with home to school transportation because◦student was doing well in school ◦no behavior problems◦no significant physical disabilities or

health issues

California Cases

Student v Soquel Union Elementary School District, OAH Case No. 2006120082

Student eligible for special education services for a speech/language disorder. District mistakenly offered transportation because IEP team thought it was District’s policy to offer to all special education students.

OAH held: Student does not require transportation as a related

service. While student had significant expressive/receptive language delays, he has social skills and hazard awareness comparable to his peers. The fact that student, like his peers, is not able to safely get to school by himself does not require district to provide special education transportation.

California Cases

Student v. Pajaro Valley Unified School District (SEHO Case no. SN 03-01877)Facts: Student (6 years old) qualified for special education services as SLD. Parent requested door to door transportation to grandparents’ house. Parent said needed door to door because of safety risk associated with walking 1/8 mile stretch of road by herself (attention, impulsivity and defiance)Holding: Student did not have unique need for door to door transportation. While it may be that Student would be at greater risk than typical 6 year old if she walked along the side of the road alone, no 6 year old should walk along side of road without supervision from parent or other responsible adult.

California Cases

-District is not obligated to transport student outside District’s geographical boundaries based upon parental needs-North Allegheny School District v. Gregory P. (1996) 25 IDELR 297 - 7 year old with hearing impairment lived part-time with mother in district boundaries and part-time with father outside district boundaries. Court denied father’s request to have student transported to father’s residence outside district. -North Allegheny rationale: the transportation requested was not related to special education needs but to accommodate particular domestic arrangement. It is not the purpose of the IDEA to mitigate such hardships.

Student’s Educational Needs, Not Parental Needs

As a general rule, the District will not be offering reimbursement to parents for transportation services starting in the 2012-2013 school year.

IEP teams will need to determine mode of transportation and write goals and provide supports if needed.

Exception: If Transportation Department determines no other mode of transportation is available, parent reimbursement may be permitted.

Reimbursing Parents for Transportation

-Per District AR 3541, IEP team/504 team shall consider, at a minimum, the following:1. Student’s safety and health needs;2. Extent to which transportation arrangements

may help the student develop independent mobility skills

3. Student’s difficulty in using regular transportation services

4. Coordination of regular and special transportation

IEP Procedures

Three Primary Reasons Students May Receive Transportation as a Related Service◦ Medically Fragile◦ Significant Safety or Behavioral Needs◦ Location of Placement or Services

Students Placed at Other Than School of Residence Students receive services at location other than

school of residence

Review Transportation WorksheetSteps 1

Transportation services should be provided in the Least Restrictive Mode

This is best for students and helps to build independence

This is often where parent convenience, practical issues AND student needs often collide

Review Transportation Worksheet Step Two

IEP team should also consider whether student needs goals related to the use of public transportation

The Mode of Transportation services may need approval by District transportation administrator before being committed to on IEP

Mode of transportation needs to be described in sufficient enough detail to inform parties of how, when, and from where transportation will be provided.

Mode of Transportation

The IEP teams should be trained on a uniform system of terms for transportation.

Review of Terms in Special Education Transportation chart-regular education transportation-school to school transportation-point to point, unsupervised or supervised-hand to hand-safety support (need to specify)-bus attendant (rider)

Types of Transportation (Terms)

IEP team needs to be specific as to location of pick up and drop off. IDEA does not require pick up at home and does not prohibit bus stop locations. It is an IEP team decision.

Courts have considered the following criteria in their assessment of whether door to door transportation is needed:

Student’s age, disability, unique problems associated with the particular disability.

Distance traveled between student’s home, bus stop (if walk to bus stop is fairly long, may weigh in favor of door to door), nature and conditions of route traveled from home to bus stop.

Availability of public assistance on the route, access to private assistance [note: if more than just guidance is needed, this may be indication student’s bus stop assignment may not be appropriate]

Location of Pick Up and Drop Off

◦ Student is a 13 Year Old Middle School Student◦ Placed in an Full-Time Collaborative Placement◦ Student Attends School of Residence◦ Student has average intelligence and Social

Skills◦ Student has no known medical issues◦ Parent is Requesting Door to Door Transportation

citing that the walk to school is unsafe◦ The student does not like to walk to school and

mom is also afraid he will start being truant or late if he does not get transportation because he already does not like school and has ADHD.

Hypotheticals (1)

Student is a 14 year old Freshman attending her home school

Student is deaf and has a 1:1 sign interpreter for her entire day

Student has always received door to door transportation as she attended schools that were not her school of residence in the past

Student tried to take general education transportation 2 years ago and was significantly bullied (documented) related to her disability

Parent is insistent that student should continue to receive transportation under “stay put”

Hypothetical (2)

Student is a kindergarten student with SDC services, OT and borderline intelligence

Student spends 1 week with mom and 1 week with dad

Dad’s house is within the school of residence Mom’s house is within district boundaries but not

within the school of residence Parents are both requesting door to door

transportation with student going to mom’s house one week and dad’s day care provider in a different part of town after school every other week

Hypothetical (3)