Some NYC students with special needs still don't have bus service 1 week into school year
Some New York City public school students with special needs still don't have school bus service almost one week into the school year.
Last week, the organization Advocates For Children had estimated that roughly 2,000 city public school students with disabilities were without a bus route due to a shortage of drivers.
A week later, Advocates For Children advocate Anna Brehm says about 100 routes still aren't picking up students.
The Department of Education said in a statement Wednesday evening:
"NYCPS is doing the work to ensure that every child has a way to get to school, whether that's an assigned bus route, a prepaid rideshare option, or an OMNY card. Every child deserves access to safe transportation, and we remain committed to ensuring all students, especially our most vulnerable populations, have reliable and consistent service. While a vast majority of students have had uninterrupted services, we understand how critical reliable transportation is for our families, particularly those relying on specialized transportation for students with IEPs, and we do not take that responsibility lightly.
"We are working around the clock on immediate fixes including procuring additional buses and training new drivers, and are also working toward long-term solutions, so that families are not facing these same challenges year after year."
Though the system is legally required to provide buses, it often becomes the parents' responsibility to sound the alarm.
Andrew Merlis says his daughter Fiona is non-verbal autistic and cannot care for herself, so the bus is the safest way for her to get to her school in Queens from their Brooklyn home.
"I wrote to the transportation coordinator at her school, and they said, 'We have no bus route,'" he said. "We should be the priority. Not because we're owed it, but because these kids can't do without it."
The family says they have been using the ride-share vouchers the DOE is offering parents. That means they have to accompany Fiona to and from school, which Merlis says is not sustainable for two working parents.
Wednesday, Merlis and his wife were told a bus had been arranged for Fiona starting Thursday, a week into the school year. Like so many other parents who have been in his position, however, he says he's just waiting for the next shoe to drop.
"Do I have any faith at all that it's going to be trouble-free tomorrow morning? No. I fully anticipate being out on that curb at 6:15 and having the bus arrive an hour and a half later or whatever it is," Merlis said. "That's just been the way it's been for years and years. It shouldn't be, but it is."
CBS News New York has covered school bus issues in 2024 and 2025.
In addition to reaching out to CBS News New York, Merlis had conversations with the school, its transportation coordinator and tried reaching out to the DOE's Committee on Special Education and even the mayor's office.
He doesn't know whether his advocacy made the difference, but the experts at Advocates For Children say the most important first step is the transportation coordinator; every school has one.
