HOUSTON – Transportation to school is a major challenge for many families during back-to-school season, but it is even more difficult for students with severe disabilities. Houston-area parents say bus problems this year are causing chaos, stress and, most importantly, safety concerns.
For parents like Ifeoma Nnona, the arrival of the school bus for her 14-year-old son George was a moment she feared might never come. George has cerebral palsy and is non-verbal. Three weeks into the new school year, George had only been to T.H. Rogers three times because the bus never showed up.
“It’s extremely, extremely stressful,” said Ifeoma.
After unanswered calls to the Houston Independent School District, the bus finally arrived two days after the family reached out to the district.
“He came into this world fighting. So, we’ve always fought. It’s a continuous fight for him,” Ifeoma added.
Sony Sanchez, another Houston mother, faces a different challenge. Her son Alex, who also has cerebral palsy and is non-verbal, attends the same school. In past years, the bus picked him up at home with a nurse on board. This year, the district wants her to drive 5.5 miles to an elementary school, meet the bus there, and put her son on with students going to a different school.
“That’s not right. That’s unacceptable,” Sony said, explaining that her son wears a diaper and could get soiled during the wait.
Micah Morton, mother to twin girls-one with autism and the other non-verbal-shared a terrifying experience when their bus went miles off course in Spring ISD.
“I called the school, no answer. I called transportation, nothing. I’m just trying to figure out where my daughters are,” Micah said.
These three families, from three different districts, share the same fear: What happens when the system fails our most vulnerable children?
If you experience similar issues, experts advise documenting every call and email. Contact your child’s school, the transportation department, and the district directly, and keep pressing for answers. If you don’t get anywhere, file a complaint with the Texas Education Agency, which will investigate.
For these parents, the fight for safe, reliable transportation is about more than just a bus ride.
“He deserves an education just like everyone else. So, I make that sacrifice. I pack lunch, I take him to school, I drop him off, I go to Memorial Park, do my workouts, go back to the school and I hang out at the office lobby,” Sony said.
These families say they will keep showing up and fighting until every child can simply get to school safely.
Texas law does not automatically mandate door-to-door transportation services for children with special needs. However, families with active Individual Education Programs (IEPs) that include transportation services have rights that must be upheld.
If you feel your child’s IEP is not being honored, you are encouraged to file a written complaint with the Texas Education Agency Your complaint must include the violations and facts supporting them. You must also send a copy of the complaint to the school against which you are filing.
Spring ISD’s statement on the August issue impacting its students:
“Spring ISD was made aware of the Aug. 28 incident and addressed it immediately. A district supervisor spoke with the parent and explained recent route adjustments, which required the driver to cover multiple routes, resulting in a longer than usual ride. While the students did return home safely, we understand the family’s concerns. In addition, the driver reported seeing no evidence of a bathroom incident.
Similar to many districts across the Houston area, Spring ISD is facing a shortage of bus drivers, which may occasionally result in delays as Transportation staff cover multiple routes. We remain committed to improving communication with families and ensuring that situations like this are avoided in the future. We are also actively recruiting bus drivers to join our team and help us provide the reliable, high-quality transportation service that our students and families deserve.”
HISD’s statement on the transportation issues impacting TH Rogers students:
“HISD is proud to have safely transported more than 20,000 students to and from school this year through District transportation services and our partnership with METRO. In response to valuable feedback from families, we have made adjustments to routes that have shortened ride times for many students. Our team remains fully committed to transporting all eligible students safely and on time. With current resources and constraints, our routing system is operating at an efficient level, and we continue to refine it through a feedback cycle between drivers, terminal operations, and the routing team. We are also conducting a districtwide ridership audit. After this process, students who are not regularly riding the bus and whose parents do not request that they remain on a route will be removed from route assignments. This step will further enhance route efficiency and reliability for actively riding students. We appreciate the ongoing partnership and patience of our families as we work to provide the safest and most reliable transportation possible.”
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