Anyone have success getting private transportation to non-public placement?

[Anonymous]

DD (ASD/ADHD) is having an increasingly hard time with taking the bus to her non-public placement. It is a 1.5 hour ride, very bumpy and loud, and she gets to school and home very dysregulated and angry. Is it worth trying to advocate for alternative transportation? We are in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

How far away is the school? At least in DC, it's easier to get ride time constraints included in the IEP, which sometimes practically results in private transportation (and even if not, sometimes solves the problem).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How far away is the school? At least in DC, it's easier to get ride time constraints included in the IEP, which sometimes practically results in private transportation (and even if not, sometimes solves the problem).

The school is one hour away. For the last two years it’s been closer to a one hour ride, but there are more kids this year.

[Anonymous]

Is this summer school where the routes will be reconfigured in the fall? Or an 11-month program? I know people in our NPP that choose to do their own transportation for medical reasons and I include AC bus in my kid's IEP because believe it or not your kid can be on a non-AC bus in the summer for an hour+ but I would be surprised if this exists in Moco. I see VA jurisdictions transporting in small vans or cars to schools in MD but that's probably just due to the number of kids; the same thing happens for DC kids at our school--small cars work better than busses in the city and there's just a few of them. I would call SPecial Education Transportation and ask if this is already a thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this summer school where the routes will be reconfigured in the fall? Or an 11-month program? I know people in our NPP that choose to do their own transportation for medical reasons and I include AC bus in my kid's IEP because believe it or not your kid can be on a non-AC bus in the summer for an hour+ but I would be surprised if this exists in Moco. I see VA jurisdictions transporting in small vans or cars to schools in MD but that's probably just due to the number of kids; the same thing happens for DC kids at our school--small cars work better than busses in the city and there's just a few of them. I would call SPecial Education Transportation and ask if this is already a thing.

It’s a 10 month program. All of the buses (from various counties in MD) are huge, regular school buses. I wish they had small vans because that would be better for her sensory issues. It would also make sense because there’s only 5 (very noisy) kids on the bus. Last year there were only 3. My daughter is very quiet and has a lot of sensory issues particularly with noise and being bounced around in the car or bus. When I drive I have to be very slow on bumpy side roads or over speed bumps. A large bus is 100x worse. The other kids have loud stims and yell a lot. It’s very hard for her.

[Anonymous]

This is going to be very hard. The public school bus doesn’t always come for our public school for the past two years. There is a severe shortage of drivers. I switched to driving DD last year, it got so bad.

[Anonymous]

Do you generally have a supportive IEP team? If not, you're likely out of luck. If you do, they may be able to write in transportation accommodations if you have supporting documentation from a medical provider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is going to be very hard. The public school bus doesn’t always come for our public school for the past two years. There is a severe shortage of drivers. I switched to driving DD last year, it got so bad.

Yeah that is what I’m suspecting. We haven’t had an issue with it actually coming but I do think it will be hard. I would drive her if I could, but it ends up being 2.5 hours (1 hour there, 1.5 home) in traffic and I can’t afford to take 5 hours off every day and it kills my back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to be very hard. The public school bus doesn’t always come for our public school for the past two years. There is a severe shortage of drivers. I switched to driving DD last year, it got so bad.

Yeah that is what I’m suspecting. We haven’t had an issue with it actually coming but I do think it will be hard. I would drive her if I could, but it ends up being 2.5 hours (1 hour there, 1.5 home) in traffic and I can’t afford to take 5 hours off every day and it kills my back.

Why don't you find a place to do something nearby school to wait your child to dismiss daily, either go to library or sign up something to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to be very hard. The public school bus doesn’t always come for our public school for the past two years. There is a severe shortage of drivers. I switched to driving DD last year, it got so bad.

Yeah that is what I’m suspecting. We haven’t had an issue with it actually coming but I do think it will be hard. I would drive her if I could, but it ends up being 2.5 hours (1 hour there, 1.5 home) in traffic and I can’t afford to take 5 hours off every day and it kills my back.

Why don't you find a place to do something nearby school to wait your child to dismiss daily, either go to library or sign up something to do.

She might have to work. I’m the other poster who drove my kid to public because the bus frequently doesn’t show up. I can’t this year because she’s in a new building and I need to get to work. The hours won’t work with my work schedule. It’s impossible for working parents to provide transportation unless everything aligns perfectly and that’s rare. I’m sorry, OP. It’s so hard. Try to get the school to provide it but know it’s not likely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to be very hard. The public school bus doesn’t always come for our public school for the past two years. There is a severe shortage of drivers. I switched to driving DD last year, it got so bad.

Yeah that is what I’m suspecting. We haven’t had an issue with it actually coming but I do think it will be hard. I would drive her if I could, but it ends up being 2.5 hours (1 hour there, 1.5 home) in traffic and I can’t afford to take 5 hours off every day and it kills my back.

Why don't you find a place to do something nearby school to wait your child to dismiss daily, either go to library or sign up something to do.

I work full time, and so does my husband. Before we got official placement, we each drove one way and it was not sustainable. At all.

[Anonymous]

As it’s only 30 extra minutes over the direct route, that’s pretty amazing. I’m not sure there’s really more you can ask about for the ride. However, there are things you can consider for on the bus. Does she need a good pair of noise canceling headphones, does she need to dot in the front? Does she need an iPad to keep her distracted and regulated? These are things more likely to be approved that you might want to consider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As it’s only 30 extra minutes over the direct route, that’s pretty amazing. I’m not sure there’s really more you can ask about for the ride. However, there are things you can consider for on the bus. Does she need a good pair of noise canceling headphones, does she need to dot in the front? Does she need an iPad to keep her distracted and regulated? These are things more likely to be approved that you might want to consider.

Yes it’s not the length of the ride, it’s the “violent jostling” (her words) and the noise of the other kids. She has noise cancelling headphones, we’ve even tried ear plugs underneath them, and she has a phone she’s on the entire time.

[Anonymous]

Op- I've never seen a parent get this in mcps

[Anonymous]

I am brain storming with you -
Can she get an seat cushion?
Would requesting a child safety seat help?