Troubling Sped Bus Issue

Over at the Facebook page for the Seattle Schools Special Education parent group, one parent posted this form about riding on the bus. 


The parent who received asked this:

Q: Has anybody seen this form before? Where is from, if you know?

I was given this form to sign right on the school bus by the bus driver the first day. I said that I wanted to read before I signed. I did not sign as I was uncomfortable to sign. Thanks

She went on to report it was the same bus driver they had last year with no issues.

The next day:

And next day, yesterday, my child was given a "vest" to put on. My child was so frightened. All my child could do was shaking, "no, mom, no... " 

We've never asked for one nor used one. My child has been a good rider. I contacted Transportation. Katie said she was unsure why my child was marked as "Equipment Code - Vest". She said she would email dispatcher. 


So now I am thinking the two incidents maybe related. I am trying to figure where the form is from. I don't see the bus driver today. It was a different one.


One parent said:

Maybe they have something wrong in their computer? It seems very odd that they would all of a sudden put your daughter in a harness. Please get your teacher involved, cite the IEP, whatever you need to do.

The parent of the child:

I did email back to Katie at Transportation and CCed our SpEd teacher to bring their attention to this form, but I haven't heard back from Katie, nor Transportation yet. I was worried that the driver would ask my child to put on the "vest" on the way home from school. I went in to ensure that this did not happen. Our SpEd teacher said that she'd already forwarded my concern to our principal.
I also hope that this is just a computer error.
 
 


As I said at the Facebook page, sure, it may be a human error.  But it's one that comes at the cost of frightening a child and worrying a parent.  On day one of the school year.

That's not acceptable. 

Comments

Eric B said…
FYI, the link to the form doesn't show up for me. I assume other people have the same problem. Can you get permission to just post the photo instead of linking?
Anonymous said…
I would assume it is human error - maybe a student id# mistyped or something and brining someone else info? I've generally found transportation pretty responsive when I had issues. When my daughter got big enough that she didn't need the 5-point harness anymore (she started riding the bus as a tiny 3 year old in preschool, and at that point she absolutely did need a more than a regular lap belt)I just wrote them a letter and they were fine with it (it was taken out of the IEP at the next cycle, but that was some months later).

On a related topic, this was the year the transportation was finally going to sort out the issue of inclement-weather routes for Sped buses, but I haven't seen any paperwork about that - there is supposed to be a form to determine whether the child can make it to an bad-weather accessible stop near their house, or if they have mobility issues that would preclude that. I suspect that only a small percentage of students on sped routes have mobility issues - most are on separate routes because they go to schools other than their assignment school.

Mom of 4
NESeattleMom said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
NESeattleMom said…
What would experienced SPED parents suggest to a parent whose 9th grade special needs son did not board his bus and was lost for hours until he was found late last night. The parent said they are going to meet with the head counselor before sending the student back. Is there something he should be sure is in the plan to ensure the student's safety?
Anonymous said…
Wow! Just wow! What high school? Makes you wonder how long he had been lost. Maybe the whole day. Let me guess. The school will tell the parents they are going to be really nice and not suspend the kid for playing hooky. Parents should call an iep meeting and demand an actual 1-1 for their kid. Only their kid. Maybe have a safety plan too.

Spedite
Spedite, what terrible comments you made. You have no idea what the challenges are for this student and assume bad intent? Jesus.
NESeattleMom said…
Spedite, What is a 1-1? Do they usually do these meetings in a group? Is that different than the parent meeting the counselor? I may ask the parent if the student was in their classes that day. I don't know when he got lost. I assumed after school that the bus drove away and the student wandered.
Thanks,
Anonymous said…
Melissa, what the heck are you talking about? My comment is about the care the student is receiving (or apparently not receiving) at school. Get a clue. Schools often cover up their complete failure by blaming the disabled students. A few years ago an Eastside district official told parents they were lucky to not suspend an Autistic student who eloped and was found running around on the freeway. Seattle is so irresponsible the kid could have been gone all day before anyone took notice. Right. I don't know this kid or situation, but I absolutely do know that the school is 100% responsible for the kids in its care, 100% of the time until they are handed off with door to door service. That includes knowing where they are. If they somehow run off, then police should immediately be called. A 1-1 is 1 support staff assigned to 1 student. I have no idea what terrible comment you are talking about. But losing a kid at school is way more terrible and indicative of reckless neglect than any blog post. Jesus right back.

Spedite
Anonymous said…
Oh, and by the way. If a student is in high school and gets bus service, that is the door to door bus, and that means the student has a relatively severe disability. Under no circumstances is the bus allowed to leave without accounting for all students. Students are supposed to be accompanied by teachers all the way to the bus. The bus will wait for all the students before leaving the school, and will call the teacher if a kid is missing. That's how it works. So no, the student wouldn't just be left behind. Losing a kid is a major screwup.

Spedite
NESeattleMom said…
Thank you Spedite. I don't know the dad. But have been texting my assistance. He is very concerned about sending student back unless he knows kid will be safe.

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