After seventeen years of litigation, the District of Columbia has regained control over its busses. The busses transport children who are in the Special Education program. The federal supervision over the busses has been ended.
There have been quite a few news stories that have something to do with Special Education and the busses that transport the students to and from school. Most of the stories are about a student who was injured or otherwise mistreated while aboard a school bus. Some were about parents who were upset that their child was not dropped off where they were supposed to be or that their child’s school bus never arrived to pick them up.
This story is different. It involves a court case that has been going on since 1995. Parents filed a class action lawsuit that alleged that the city of the District of Columbia has “failed to provide reliable transportation for students with disabilities.” This was when the federal oversight of the bussing system started.
Recently, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman decided to end the federal supervision over the city’s special education transportation program. This returns the control over the busses to District officials.
Mayor Vincent C. Gray had this to say about the outcome of the case:
“This decision to remove federal supervision over special-education transportation is a major accomplishment for the District government – and one my administration has worked hard to achieve. This crucial service will now again be run exclusively by the District government.”
The District has been providing the necessary financial and management support to run the specialized education transportation system without court supervision. They have dedicated a five-year capital investment of $28 million, which will be use to continue service and to upgrade the fleet of busses. Two years ago, the District started providing the funding. The court’s decision means that the milestone of taking control of the busses has been reached.
David Gilmore, the supervising court master provided a report in October that noted that despite the improvements, the city’s “ability to continue in compliance is fragile”. He said:
“The performance of the transportation system could deteriorate rapidly if the financial support of management resources currently being provided by the District of Columbia are reduced.”
This isn’t exactly the end of the story. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman has set a December hearing date to finalize dismissal of the 1995 lawsuit. The name of the suit is Petties v. District of Columbia.
Image by KB35 on Flickr