Dear Mayor Bloomberg and Local 1181 (an open letter regarding the NYC School Bus Strike)

Dear Mayor Bloomberg and Local 1181,

Below is a picture of my son, Norrin. He will be seven years old tomorrow. He has autism and goes to a special education school in Westchester - 22 miles away from our apartment building in The Bronx. 

As my husband and I are both working parents - we rely on the Office of Pupil Transportation and the Local 1181 to get Norrin to and from school safely.

I am sure some wonder why we would choose to send our only child to a school so far way. It was not an easy decision to make. But not a single public school in The Bronx could meet Norrin's specific needs. It was a fight to get him placed into a specialized school but his school was well worth the fight.    

Yesterday, Friday, January 18, 2013, was the 3rd day of the NYC School Bus Strike. And my son Norrin is 1 of the 152,000 students stranded. On Wednesday and Thursday, I had no choice but to take vacation days from work to stay home with Norrin. But on the third day, I had to go into work. And with limited childcare options, I had no choice but to bring Norrin in with me. 

I am administrative assistant and my husband is a NYS Supreme Court Officer - we don't have the kind of jobs where we have the privilege of working from home on a whim. My husband, cannot even manage to take a single day off from work to pick Norrin up from school. So the responsibility rests on me. And while we have a car, I do not know how to drive. In order for me to get Norrin from school, I need to take a bus, MetroNorth and a cab - it's a 2 hour commute (one way). And I know parents are to be reimbursed for service but it's a $75 fare and I can't afford this on a daily basis.

Norrin isn't the kind of kid who can ride in a car pool with strangers. He still sits in a car seat. He has limited language and functions at a 4 year old level. Norrin's a runner and needs his hand to be held at all times. And while Norrin is okay riding trains - I do not feel comfortable sending him off with someone else - whether they know Norrin or not. When I commute with him, I keep both hands on Norrin while waiting on train platforms and when sitting on the train, I keep a hand on his knee because he tries to get up. If we're standing, I have to keep reminding him to hold on because he doesn't know how to keep his balance.     

So now I am forced to choose. Do I go to work? Or do I take my child to school?

I heard that out of the 145 students that attend Norrin's school only 43 kids showed up. These kids are missing out their much needed related services like Speech and Occupational Therapy. And because school is technically open - these  services will not be made up. They are missing out on classroom instruction and peer relationship building. Their routines are being disrupted. These are children at risk for regression. 

Norrin has come such a long way since his diagnosis, I cannot risk him regressing. And after disruptions to his routine, it takes weeks to get him back on track. So on Tuesday, I will need to take another vacation day so that Norrin can go to school.      

I have a generous amount of vacation time - four weeks. But if this strike goes beyond my vacation, I have no idea what I will do. I've already spoken to the Human Resources department and I've been told that this doesn't qualify for FMLA. And I need my vacation time to Norrin to appointments, for IEP meetings, for evaluations. This is beyond a stressful situation.  

So it seems ironic to me that Local 1181 members are fighting for their job protection, while so many parents - especially parents of special needs children - are worried about their own job security. My job is not secure - I can be let go at any given time. And while my bosses may be understanding, my being out of the office is an inconvenience. I worry about my job. Because I need it. And I have no union to fight for my protection.

This strike must end soon. Because the individuals who really need protection are our kids. And I am fighting for them.

Sincerely, 

Norrin's Mom

For more on the NYC School Bus Strike see my other posts: 
What Will I Do If There's a NYC School Bus Strike
Are You Prepared For a School Bus Strike? on Parents.com

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD - please sign the petition started by Miz Kp of Sailing Autistic Seas!  

What Will I Do If There's a NYC School Bus Strike?

I've been trying not to think about. What we would do if there really is a school bus strike?


We live in The Bronx. The Boy's school is up in Westchester County - twenty miles away. I don't know how to drive. (I just got scolded for the billionth time "this is exactly the reason why you should know how to drive Babe.") And I work down in Manhattan.


Bus drivers and matrons are scheduled to strike starting Wednesday.


You may be wondering how New York City is preparing for a possible school bus strike?  
   






The strike will impact "152,000 students and their families." And a significant amount of these students have special needs.


And it makes me laugh every time every time I hear that the DOE plans on handing out metro cards. "Parents of children in grades K-2 can request an additional MetroCard to escort their child to school." 


So...the DOE thinks it's okay to put a 3rd grader (an 8-9 year old) on the train or bus unescorted by their parent? I wasn't allowed to take the train/bus by myself until I started the 9th grade.  The irony of this is - if I left an 8 year old home alone and the DOE or any one else found out about it, I may have children's services knocking at my door.


Either way, a metro card isn't really going to help me. 


The DOE will also offer reimbursement to parents driving their kids to school or taking a car service - after filling out a form, of course.


Many kids in the public school system are working class families, single parents, parents of with multiple children, families who are working to simply get by. Families who do not have the flexibility in their jobs to take time off or work from home. Families who do not have cars or have the room in their budget to pay for car service (especially if the strike lasts for more than a few days). And let's be for real, it's the DOE - it could take months for reimbursement. 


The Boy's been on a school bus since he was two years old. It isn't easy putting your kid on a school bus, sending them off with strangers hoping they will keep them safe. Especially when you have a child with special needs and they don't have the capacity to tell you about their day to day events. The bus drivers and matrons are absolutely critical to families like mine and they deserved to be treated as such. But the Department of Education and The Office of Pupil Transportation are two different entities who I wished spent more time working together. Because there's too much red tape involved and our kids are all tangled up in it.     
So what will we do if there really is a strike? Here are the options -  


Option #1: I'll take a vacation days, stay home with The Boy and try to keep him busy. 


Option #2: Take vacation days and take him up to school via public transportation (car service is not an option for me can't afford it - especially if this lasts for a few days). Public transportation requires a bus, the metro north train and a cab from the station to the school. It will take about 2.5 hours. Going back home or even to work would be a waste of time and money because The Boy will still need to get home. I may need to just set myself up in the parents lounge... 


Option #3: Go to work, keep him home with a babysitter - I'll have to pay extra for that too. 


Either way, The Boy will be missing out on something and his entire routine will be disrupted.
The whole thing is sort of freaking me out. And I'm really hoping that all can be resolved between now and Wednesday.  

Are You an #NYC #SpecialNeeds Parent & Fed Up With The Office of Pupil Transportation and Busing?

I am too.

Days before The Boy started school, I got a letter from the Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) with the bus information. It was for the wrong school. 

When I called to inquire, I was given the runaround and everyone was passing the buck. I was told that it could take up to TWO WEEKS before The Boy could be placed on a route. 

The Boy missed his first day of school. I had to take a vacation day from work. But with all the drama of last year, I have used up most of my vacation days. There was no way I could take two weeks off from work to stay home with The Boy because the OPT screwed up.

And more importantly - THE BOY NEEDED TO BE IN SCHOOL. 

I got it fixed. I made calls and sent emails and The Boy was on the bus on the second day of school. (Two weeks my ---!)

Anyway...

New York City special needs kids have been in school for less than 2 weeks and already the OPT has made the papers. 

Have you read THIS  by Ben Chapman of the NY Daily News -  

Five-hour hell ride home from school torments autistic boyTHE FIRST DAY of school was tough enough for little Levi Vidal, a 3-year-old from Brooklyn, but the five-hour bus ride home reduced the autistic boy to crying hysterics. Levi’s trip with disabled classmates from the Gramercy School in midtown became an unbearable hell ride with no water and no relief.

Then my blog pal wrote this post about her 5 year old autistic son being on the bus for THREE HOURS.

And then, my BFF who has a 4 year daughter on the spectrum was sent an email from her daughters school stating this:

 

Citing budgetary reasons, the DOE changed _____'s busing company starting the current school year.  After working with Selby Busing Company for more than a decade, a new bus vendor- Consolidated Bus Service run by Professional Charter Company has been thrust on us.

 

Thus far, Consolidated Bus has proven to be completely ineffective. Only 25% of the families at _____ have been contacted by new bus company and the 75% majority hasn't heard about their kids pickup/droffoff time/driver name etc, despite the fact the school year has already begun.

 

Furthermore, those 25% families who have been contacted (including me) have received multiple bizarre phone calls with conflicting pickup times and driver names and strange buses arriving at their door at 7AM in the morning.

All attempts by _____ and _____ to contact the Consolidated Bus office have been futile as Consolidated Bus officials have been totally unresponsive.

Um....the Consolidated Bus Company is the bus company Chapman mentions in his article.   
Crystal Alfano, the mom behind the FB page New York City Parents Fed Up With Transportation Troubles  posted this update:

If I strap one of my kids to a chair for five hours and deny them access to food, water, the bathroom and make them sit in their own bodily waste, I'm an abusive parent. If I do it to a student, I lose my teaching licenses. If I do it to a child on board a bus, it's completely OK? Why does Stephen Genovese owner of Consolidated, Professional Charter, paratransit, Jodi, Access A Ride, and who knows how many other companies get away with it? How many more kids must he abuse before he is taken off the road. Chancellor Walcott, do the right thing and take away the rest of his contracts.

I've been putting The Boy on a schools since he was 2. 9 years old - he couldn't speak and was still in diapers. So many of our kids have difficulty with speech - they cannot speak up for their rights and as their parents - WE MUST SPEAK UP & FIGHT FOR THEM. 

Crystal is organizing a Bus Rally and Press Conference and parent support - hell, ALL support is crucial.  Here is the info:
When: Wed. Sept 19
Time: 11:00 AM

Where: The Tweed Courthouse, DOE headquarters located at 52 Chambers Street

 

Other ways to support or who to call regarding Transportation issues:

• Sherwin James, the head of Pre-K Special ED bussing - sjames6@schools.nyc.gov
• Contact NYC's Elected official--Bill Deblassio--Public Advocate for the City of New York by phone, email and facebook. URL http://pubadvocate.nyc.gov/  AND http://pubadvocate.nyc.gov/special-ed Phone

: 212-669-7200 or 212-669-7250;   email: GetHelp@pubadvocate.nyc.gov Also available on Facebook, and Twitter http://pubadvocate.nyc.gov/contact-us 

Contact your Borough President and/or City Council Members

Contact the Office of Pupil Transportation