Transportation

If considering special education transportation please call or invite to the IEP meeting the person in Transportation assigned to your school.

ECSE:

For children identified as ECSE:  Before the IEP Team meeting to write the initial or annual IEP, the ECSE Team Leader must contact Transportation and provide them with the child’s address.  This is to determine if the child’s residence is accessible for curb to curb service by a school bus.  If the residence is not accessible, the Director of Special Education must be consulted.

• If the child is at least the size of an average four year old and is able to sit quietly in a bus seat, no restraint such as a harness or car seat is needed.
• If the child is under the size of an average four year old, a car seat or harness should be used depending upon the situation.
• Irrespective of age, if the child does not remain in the seat, a harness or seat belt should be used depending upon the particular situation.

If the child needs a car seat, and if the residence has been determined to be accessible for curb to curb service, staff should encourage parents to provide a car seat for the school bus.  If the parents do not have a car seat, the district can loan one to the parents for use on the school bus.  A car seat may be written on the IEP.

If the child needs a harness, and the residence has been determined to be accessible for curb to curb service by transportation, a harness may be written on the IEP.

Write “Curb to Curb,” not “Door to Door” on the IEP.

There is no need to write bus paraprofessional as this is already provided as part of standard practice for all ECSE students in pre-school.

K-12:

As a part of each student’s IEP Plan, IEP teams must consider the transportation needs of students with educational disabilities.  Transportation is based on student need as determined through the IEP team process.  If special transportation is needed, it should be documented under the Adaptation section as a related service.

When an IEP team establishes that a student must be transported for special education reasons and these reasons require the bus to stop at the home, the correct phrase to use is “curb to curb.”  Do not include the use of a seat belt on the bus on the IEP.  (If a student requires a paraprofessional to ride the bus, this should be stated in the IEP under the adaptations section.)

The Saint Paul Public Schools is in full compliance with state law by having two-way radios on all buses.  When buses are equipped with these radios the district is not legally obligated to provide the assistance of a paraprofessional on the bus.

Non-Public:

Transportation will be provided by the public school to the service site when transportation is warranted.  Special education students from non-pupil schools who receive service in your building need to be scheduled within the first week of school.

Service providers need to schedule their students between 9:00 a.m. and 1:55 p.m.  All service providers need to complete the Transportation Information for Non-public Students forms.  One person from each school should collect the forms and fax them to the Special Education Department at 228-3626, which will make arrangements with the transportation department.