D.C. has to turn over its transportation plan for students with disabilities this fall, a District Court judge said Thursday.
Judge Paul L. Friedman ordered the city’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education to work with the groups representing families to see if an agreement can be reached.
In an hourslong hearing, attorney Margaret H. Warner with McDermott Will & Emery LLP said Friedman “also ordered the parties to confer with each other and to see if there can be any agreement between the plaintiffs and the District on upcoming transportation for the school year.”
The hearing comes months after a lawsuit accused D.C. of failing to provide reliable transportation to and from school. Buses for students with disabilities are either late or don’t arrive at all, don’t always offer proper accommodations, and can’t be reliably tracked, the lawsuit said.
OSSE previously said it doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation. City lawyers said in court that the District is working to fix the issues, Warner said.
David Clark, whose 8-year-old daughter is nonverbal and immobile, said the buses’ inconsistencies have disrupted routines and led to anxiety.
Buses are usually late three out of five school days during the week and parents often find out they’ll be late “as it happens,” Clark said.
“What that does is really do damage to the structures you have in place for this child that needs special things,” Clark said. “My daughter needs medication, she has to get therapies because she’s non-mobile, all these things are thrown off by the bus being late in the morning.”
When the bus isn’t on time, Clark said it impacts his daughter’s demeanor.
“When you have a child like this, if these systems aren’t in place, it can wreak havoc on your schedule and things that you need to do,” Clark said.
Sometimes, buses don’t have proper equipment for students with disabilities or drivers don’t show up for work, Warner said.
Parents and the group The Arc of the United States filed the lawsuit in March. It said the city is denying students equal access to education.
“This is a systemic breakdown of process and procedures for transportation of children with disabilities in the District,” Warner said. “And everyone has similar problems.”
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for July 23.
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