Students with Disabilities Entitled to School Transportation When Home District Closed

Students with Disabilities are Entitled to Transportation to School Programs Even When the Home District is Closed

November 2006 - Did you know that students with disabilities who are placed in out of district programs by the Committee on Special Education (CSE) or the Preschool Committee on Special Education (CPSE) are entitled to transportation to that program even when the home district is closed? In other words, students who have special education placements, documented on their Individualized Education Program (IEP), should be transported to these placements everyday the program is open even if the home district is closed (snow days are an acceptable exception).

Section 4402(4)(d) of the Education Law specifies that a child identified by the Committee on Special Education as needing a placement outside of the district of residence shall be provided transportation to this placement. Nowhere in this section does it give the district authority to limit transportation to only those days that the district is in session.

If you are aware of a family being denied transportation to an approved placement, please send a completed intake form (attached to this letter) to:

Robin Worobey
Developmental Disabilities Planning Council
155 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210-2329
(518) 486-7505 or fax (518) 402-3505
rworobey@ddpc.state.ny.us

The DDPC also request that those families that are currently struggling with denial of transportation share their personal stories in a letter. These letters will be collected and used to obtain a statewide resolution to this problem.

For clarification, we are not talking about students who are attending a non-public school selected by parents at the parent’s expense.
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