| Releases
& Statements
For Release: February
12, 2007
Contact: Frank Sobrino, Press Secretary
O: (212) 669-4193; C: (646) 250-4322
Gotbaum Calls for “School Bus Bill of
Rights”
To protect parents and students from the disruptions and dangers
created by mid-year school bus route changes in the future, Public
Advocate Betsy Gotbaum today proposed legislation that would bar
the Department of Education from implementing significant changes
to school bus routes between November 1 and the end of the school
year.
“Any changes to bus service should be well-planned,”
Gotbaum said. “We still struggle with the fall out from
a completely mismanaged bus route reorganization. We need to ensure
this doesn’t happen again.”
Gotbaum’s legislation, or “School Bus Bill of Rights,”
would include:
• The Right to reliable service during the course of the
school year. Revisions, aside from minor adjustments, should not
be made between November 1 and the end of the school year.
• The Right of drivers to become familiar with new routes.
All route changes should be provided to school bus operators well
in advance of their implementation so bus drivers have time to
make a “dry run” of routes.
• The Right of students and parents to receive notification
of specific route changes and service elimination prior to implementation.
Written notice of specific changes should be made available on
buses and distributed to parents.
• The Right to a grace period for all students affected
by routing changes. Students should have the right to continue
to receive bus service in the days following change implementation,
while they appeal decisions.
• The Right of elected officials and Community Education
Councils to receive information about changes to bus routes prior
to implementation, including information about eligibility requirements
and individual routes.
Last week, Chancellor Klein acknowledged that implementation of
route changes “was not as good as it should have been.”
Gotbaum wants assurance that the Department of Education never
leaves children out in the cold again. “We clearly need
a School Bus Bill of Rights for our students.”
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