12/5/2023 0 Comments Chicago school bus shortageand doesn’t reach his drop-off location until after 6 p.m.įamilies who have children with disabilities say that this isn’t the first time that they have struggled with unreliable bus service to get their children to school. While school ends at 4 p.m.,Raúl’s bus often arrives at the school around 5:30 p.m. ![]() Sámano said bus service has been inconsistent all year so far, and Raúl sometimes is late for his first class, which is one of two classes that provides enhanced learning assistance to diverse learners, and on some other days there is no service. The numbers fluctuate in the first couple of months of a new school year, district officials said. ![]() Over the last year, Chicago Public Schools also consolidated or canceled 289 bus routes.ĭistrict officials said the total number of students without transportation may vary as part of the evolving situation.Īsked to explain why more students are now without bus service, district officials said the “higher number of transportation requests can be attributed to new requests, changes in enrollment, and route assignments returned by bus companies.” But weeks later, the bus problem hasn’t improved. Last month, Chicago Public School board members said 3,300 students were stranded without bus service, citing the continued bus driver shortage, but said they aimed to prioritize students with special needs. When school started at the end of August, 2,100 students were left without a ride on the first day of school and families were offered $1,000 to cover transportation. CPS remains committed to providing full transportation services to students,” a Chicago Public Schools spokesperson said in a statement.ĬPS is working with vendors to ramp up bus driver hiring and training to resume regularly provided transportation services, according to a CPS official. “Like school districts across the country, the district is experiencing a shortage in drivers. Students with disabilities have transportation written into their Individualized Education Programs, and the requirement is backed by federal law. Currently, students with disabilities make up more than half of the outstanding transportation requests - about 2,500 out of 4,000 students across the district. But weeks later, several families told Chalkbeat that bus service is still a daily gamble, and data provided by Chicago Public Schools shows that even more families lack service now than at the start of the year.Ĭhicago is responsible for transporting about 16,000 students to and from schools every year. That has left them frustrated and concerned about their children’s safety, as students have been stranded at bus stops alone or have to stay home alone because parents are working.Ĭhicago’s bus problems made headlines the first week of school, and district officials promised cash payments for transit assistants and a fast solution. ![]() Parents describe how their children are dropped off at home 30-45 minutes late or later, pickups are canceled last-minute, and communication is spotty from district officials. Weeks into the school year, Illinois families such as Sámano’s are still grappling with unreliable bus service because of the state’s school bus driver shortage and logistical problems with district planning. That way we can make alternate choices,” Sámano said. “They should be calling the parents so we know what to do.
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