Anonymous wrote:We are in FCPS and I have a SN child who takes the bus from our house. Just FYI, I have the drivers cell and text the driver to know if he will not be going to school that day, so the driver doesn't make the trip here.

This is also the way it works in moco.

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of reasons, buy why does the OP need an explanation if her child does not have and IEP. I can see that the money for transportation comes out of a different pot of money for kids in special education. They don't want to keep track of non-special ed children, there job is to keep track of just the SN children. You would be asking a driver and assistant and whomever is in the main office to go across systems to accommodate one student who is non SN.

But see...it will not stop there. As part of his IEP, my kid gets extra time on tests and the option to keyboard. I could not tell you how many non-IEP parents have tried to take advantage and get the same benefits for their kids as a piggyback on my son's IEP. So I can clearly see MCPS taking a firm "no" stance on things like this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this fuss and the assigned bus stop at the neighborhood school is only a mile away? God, lady, get some real problems! I thought the bus stop must be very very far away, for you to whine on and on about it.

I'm not the OP, but I'd rather drive less, rather than more. Wouldn't you? Or maybe the bus stop OP's child can't use is within walking distance, whereas OP has to drive OP's child to the bus stop OP's child can use. I think that those are reasonable considerations.

They would be except that OP likely knew going in that her kid's stop for the HGC school would be the home school. She has learned that there is a more convenient stop, but that stop is only for a specific SN child who gets that accomodation. MCPS transportation is being provided to the HGC - just from a central stop that surrounding kids will use. Not uncommon at all. That's not good enough for OP. She asked and was told "no" both over the phone and in writitng. THAT should be the end of it. But this having to know why and all that is BS. Just have the kid use the MCPS transportation as provided. It is not that hard.

There are lots of reasons, buy why does the OP need an explanation if her child does not have and IEP. I can see that the money for transportation comes out of a different pot of money for kids in special education. They don't want to keep track of non-special ed children, there job is to keep track of just the SN children. You would be asking a driver and assistant and whomever is in the main office to go across systems to accommodate one student who is non SN.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So to recap:

OP would like to take advantage of and piggyback on an accomodation that is being made for a SN child. She has been told no and now she will only rest when she knows the exact reason and agrees with it.

Well, no. OP wanted to use a bus stop, in the belief that it was a bus stop for the public. The bus depot said that it is not a bus stop for the public. OP would like to know why it is not a bus stop for the public.

And it doesn't seem relevant to me that the OP's child goes to an HGC. If the OP's child went to the home school, it wouldn't be any different.

Well if has been told that it is not a public bus stop and she cannot use it, why do they owe her any further explanation? I am the PP you are responding to and I did not say anything about HGC issue. But it is relevant in a sense, because in this case, the next closest HGC stop is at the home school. OP wants to avoid having to take her kid to the central stop (that most nearby HGC kids would use) and to take advatage of the SN accomodation - which is a more convenient stop for her.

So to recap:

OP would like to take advantage of and piggyback on an accomodation that is being made for a SN child. She has been told no and now she will only rest when she knows the exact reason and agrees with it.

+1000. OP, go find something more productive to do with your life and be thankful that your child doesn't have special needs that require accommodation (although if he/she did, perhaps that would have taught you some empathy)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes, the home stops are accommodations for children with special needs - like a child with Autism who perhaps does not react well in crowds. There are reasons a stop might not be available to all.

If the child doesn't react well in crowds that child shouldn't take a school bus full of other non SN kids. This is what I don't get. The child needs accommodations. Fine. Why does that mean a different child can't get on after the kid with needs?

I've emailed three different people on the bus depot list. No explanation...just "it's not allowed".

You are a PITA.
Seriously.
Take your kid to the correct stop.

Perhaps the transportation is specified in the IEP. Individualized. Not your kid + that kid.
Maybe it's just your kid camping out on the public sidewalk in front of another's house, at first, then it's two kids, then it's a whole bus stop--maybe what the IEP intended to avoid.

Nope, none of the above. It's due to privacy issues.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes, the home stops are accommodations for children with special needs - like a child with Autism who perhaps does not react well in crowds. There are reasons a stop might not be available to all.

If the child doesn't react well in crowds that child shouldn't take a school bus full of other non SN kids. This is what I don't get. The child needs accommodations. Fine. Why does that mean a different child can't get on after the kid with needs?

I've emailed three different people on the bus depot list. No explanation...just "it's not allowed".

You are a PITA.
Seriously.
Take your kid to the correct stop.

Perhaps the transportation is specified in the IEP. Individualized. Not your kid + that kid.
Maybe it's just your kid camping out on the public sidewalk in front of another's house, at first, then it's two kids, then it's a whole bus stop--maybe what the IEP intended to avoid.

Anonymous wrote:All this fuss and the assigned bus stop at the neighborhood school is only a mile away? God, lady, get some real problems! I thought the bus stop must be very very far away, for you to whine on and on about it.

I'm not the OP, but I'd rather drive less, rather than more. Wouldn't you? Or maybe the bus stop OP's child can't use is within walking distance, whereas OP has to drive OP's child to the bus stop OP's child can use. I think that those are reasonable considerations.

Anonymous wrote:So to recap:

OP would like to take advantage of and piggyback on an accomodation that is being made for a SN child. She has been told no and now she will only rest when she knows the exact reason and agrees with it.

Well, no. OP wanted to use a bus stop, in the belief that it was a bus stop for the public. The bus depot said that it is not a bus stop for the public. OP would like to know why it is not a bus stop for the public.

And it doesn't seem relevant to me that the OP's child goes to an HGC. If the OP's child went to the home school, it wouldn't be any different.

Anonymous wrote:And this is not her home school and home bus stop- this is to get her snowflake to a HGC.

That's right, and I know how jealous some parents get about that.

And this is not her home school and home bus stop- this is to get her snowflake to a HGC.

So to recap:

OP would like to take advantage of and piggyback on an accomodation that is being made for a SN child. She has been told no and now she will only rest when she knows the exact reason and agrees with it.

All this fuss and the assigned bus stop at the neighborhood school is only a mile away? God, lady, get some real problems! I thought the bus stop must be very very far away, for you to whine on and on about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

OP here. I am not asking to know that specific child's reason. I'm just looking for a good reason, in general, why kids can't use a bus stop meant for a SN child.

Yes you are, OP. The question has been answered repeatedly. Kids get special bus stops when they cannot handle a regular one for some reason or another. It may be because they cannot handle stimulation from other kids, that they are runners, that they have special equipment and take extra time loading (and it would be a nightmare and very time consuming to have ten other kids getting on the bus at their house), because the stop is unsafe to have multiple kids gathering, etc. You don't need a specific reason but that's the only thing that will satisfy you.

This answers the question, "Why do SN children get special stops?" It doesn't answer the question, "Why can't my child use one of the special stops?"

Perhaps the reason the OP's child can't use one of the special stops is that it is bus depot policy that non-SN children may not use a stop for a SN child. If so, that's what the bus depot should tell OP.

OP here. So, I got a letter today saying this very thing. Still doesn't explain why, though.

Ah. Well, now you know the answer, OP. You asked, and the bus depot told you. I think that it's time to move on.

Trust me, OP, you must move on. Don't get obsessed with this issue. It is a battle that many have tried to fight. This is just one of the many frustrating aspects of a large school system like MCPS.