Transportation to school

Your child is entitled to transportation under related services in the IEP. This does not always mean that your child has to ride a "special" bus. Your child is entitled to LRE (least restrictive environment) and this includes the bus ride to and from school. Your child's ride should also not be longer than needed, and s/he should not have a shortened school day (unless medically needed) just because s/he rides specialized transportation (if needed).

These resources may help you plan for transportation for your child with a disability:

Transportation to School
The following documents describe procedures some communities use in regards to transporation to school for children and youth with special health care needs.

• Georgia School Bus Driver Training Manual p.208 How to disconnect or cut wheelchair securement and occupant protection equipment, and other support equipment (air tubes, feeding tubes, etc.). Knowing how long the student can survive with interrupted support equipment; page 139 Transporting Students with Special Needs
• Emergency and Rescue Procedures: A Guideline Manual for School Bus Involvement - page 20: Exercise caution: some pupils have catheters or are tube fed. The hoses or tubes have to be anchored somewhere and sometimes are anchored to the wheelchair. If straps are severed and the pupil is pulled from the wheelchair to evacuate them, any bodily (including internal) hookups to the pupil are likely to be ripped from the body and possibly cause severe internal problems.
• Special Needs Student Transportation: p. 52: Whether students should be evacuated in their wheelchairs or removed from their wheelchairs before evacuation. Exercise caution: some students have catheters or are tube fed. The hoses or tubes have to be anchored somewhere and are sometimes anchored to the wheelchair. To evacuate them bodily might rip hookups to the student which could cause severe internal problems.
• Transporting Students with Special Needs, U.S. Department of Transporation