Eligibility for special education transportation as a related service shall be determined by the IEP team individually for each student, based on the assessment information related to the student’s disability. This determination, which shall be stated in the IEP, must be related to the needs of the student as a result of the student’s disability and consideration of whether transportation is required for the student to benefit from special education. When safety is a consideration, the determination must be related to the student’s disability and may not be based solely on the student’s chronological age or the school the student is attending.

 

IDEA contains no requirement for a formal, separate assessment. The IEP team makes the decision about whether a student requires transportation as a related service.

 

OSEP and case law reflect LEA’s obligation to assess student needs prior to determining transportation eligibility.  Transportation cannot be determined in order to accommodate a parent’s convenience or preferences.

 

 The 9th circuit has not specified criteria for determining need, although other decisions have included these factors:

 

Yes, if it is determined that transportation is a necessary related service for the student to receive FAPE and it is in the student’s current IEP. If the student’s residence is outside the school’s bus area, the LEA/District can offer alternatives including mileage reimbursement for parents transporting the student.

 

The IEP team determines the need for a healthcare assistant or a temporary support assistant on the bus based upon assessed physical or medical needs or for safety issues due to existing student behaviors that are a manifestation of the disability. When it is determined that a bus assistant is required for student behaviors that jeopardize health and safety, those behaviors must be documented on the IEP and the IEP must include a Behavior Intervention Plan(BIP) and goals to decrease or eliminate the behaviors.

 

A student’s IEP specifies which steps the LEA/District must take to meet the student’s educational needs. Specialized equipment may be required. When the IEP requires the use of special equipment, the student may need the equipment during transport. IDEA identifies transportation as a related service for education. Providers of related services must honor the requirements of the IEP. As a result, transportation must accommodate the need to transport or use any required special equipment. 13 CCR § 1293 places responsibility for the condition and repairs of the wheelchair, its wheel locks, and seat belt upon the owner (parent/ guardian) of the wheelchair. The IEP may require an ambulatory student to be restrained by a lap belt or safety vest. Contract companies shall provide all equipment (except a wheelchair) required for the transportation of students with disabilities on their buses. 

 

Yes, but the suspension of a student receiving special education services from transportation can be considered a change of placement if the LEA/District does not provide another mode of transportation. A significant change in placement requires a meeting of the IEP team to review the student’s IEP. During the period of any exclusion from bus transportation, a student must be provided with an alternative form of transportation at no cost to the parent/guardian to be assured of having access to the required special education instruction and services EDC 48915.5.

 

 

Yes, a certified service animal may be transported when it is needed to facilitate the functional level of a student with disabilities. The LEA/District should develop a policy to address this issue. Please see Appendix 1 for a sample policy and additional guidance.

 

Neither Part B of the IDEA nor the regulations address the issue of the length of a school day. Determining the length of a school day is a decision left to the LEA/District. However, the IDEA defines a school day as any day, including a partial day, in which students are in attendance at school for instructional purposes. Additionally, the school day has the same meaning for all children in school, including both those with and without disabilities. In general, a school day for a child with a disability should not be longer or shorter than a school day for general education students. However, if a child’s IEP team determines a child needs a shorter or extended school day in order to receive FAPE, then appropriate modifications should be incorporated into the IEP. However, these modifications must be based on the unique needs of the child, as determined by the IEP team, and not solely based on the child’s transportation time.

 

Whether a student with a disability has a right to transportation to and from school-related activities that occur outside of normal school hours depends on whether the IEP team has included transportation as a related service in the student’s IEP to enable the student to benefit from special education and related services.

 

If the IEP team has made that determination, then it should include transportation for required after-school activities, such as community service activities that are required by the school, as well as for activities necessary to afford the child an equal opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities.

 

TAKE NOTE: “The IEP should describe any transportation services that a student with a disability needs to participate in extracurricular activities”. Questions and Answers on Serving Children with Disabilities Eligible for Transportation (OSERS 2009).  Under the IDEA, transportation for extracurricular activities may qualify as either a "related service" or a "nonacademic and extracurricular service and activity." 71 Fed. Reg. 46,583 (2006). See also 34 CFR 300.34 ; and 34 CFR 300.107.

 

The term “door-to-door” transportation seems to contemplate a home pickup and delivery as opposed to a bus-stop or “station” assignment, but still provides no indication as to what precise location at the home the transportation should meet the student – the curb, the driveway, or the front door itself. Cases have found that school districts are not required to cross the threshold and enter the interior of the home to retrieve and deliver the student. (see Independent School District, 17 IDELR 21 (SEA MN 1990) [school district was not obligated to provide an aide to carry a non-ambulatory child inside her home and up a flight of stairs]; and New York City School District, (SEA NY 1986) [school personnel was not required to go inside the apartment building where a student with an orthopedic impairment lived].) Generally, however, if the student’s IEP calls for door-to-door transportation, the district will be expected to provide transportation to and from the street location closest to the student’s doorstep.

 

Develop and implement clear written procedures governing how transportation to maintain students in foster care in their school of origin when in their best interest will be provided, arranged, and funded for the duration of their time in foster care, and ensure that students promptly receive that transportation.

 

In California, foster youth have the right to continue to attend their school of origin through the end of the school year for youth in grades one through eight and have the right to complete high school for students already in high school when their case closes. EDC Section 48853.

 

Designate a “Point of Contact” (POC) if the corresponding child welfare agency notifies the LEA in writing that it has designated an employee to serve as a POC for the LEA.

 

These procedures must ensure that children and youth in foster care who need transportation to the school of origin promptly receive it in a cost-effective manner.

 

If there are additional costs incurred in providing transportation to the school of origin, school districts will provide transportation through one of the following methods: The child welfare agency agrees to reimburse the school district;

 

 

District A. The district of residence must arrange for transportation consistent with its policies for resident students.

 

District B. The district of location, which in this situation is District B, is responsible for providing educational services to the student, including transportation, and District A, the district of residence at the time the student entered foster care, is responsible for the cost of the services pursuant to EDC §3202(4)(a).

 

An IEP that requires transportation as a related service usually doesn’t need to include a goal for transportation. However, if transportation is integrated into an IEP provision, such as increasing independence or improving socialization, goals related to the service are necessary. (SEA IL 2014) (citing Letter to Smith, (OSEP 1995))

 

This varies to a large extent on the student, disability, overall health condition, and norms for the region. Nevertheless, a review of published opinions shows that generally speaking (and assuming the district is not located in a sparsely populated rural area), a student’s daily commute should not greatly exceed one hour either way.

 

TAKE NOTE: Neither the IDEA nor Section 504 specifically addresses the appropriate length of bus rides for students with disabilities. However, lengthy bus rides may be discriminatory and may result in the denial of FAPE,  Letter to Anonymous, (OSEP 1993.) Also consider an increase in travel time may constitute a change in educational placement under some circumstances. Dropping off the child an hour and 15 minutes later constituted a change in educational placement requiring the district to convene an IEP team meeting before deciding to make the increase. Fremont Union High Sch. Dist., (OCR 2011).