banshe333

ok i have a situation i'd like your opinion on. I don't know if what they did was legally wrong but i do feel that they were discriminated against..opinions?


I have2 deaf preschoolers (5 and 4 years old) who were attending the virginia school for the deaf and blind. transportation was provided to and from school, but the driver did not know sign language,therefore could not communicate instructions to my children. there was also no aid in the car.the transportation dept had trouble keeping him in his seat in the car, due to obvious language barriers. they came to us offering harnesses as a solution,and we rejected the idea,as it seemed cruel and unnesesary, and possibly detremental to their health to us. they then put another driver who also does not speak sign in the back seat with my boys, who consistently said he was "bad". my oldest did not want to get into the car with her often and today flat out refused to get in. the driver then left him at the school, which is two hours away from our home. I had to drive there to get him from school. when i asked my son why he wouldnt get in her car, he responded that he did not like the driver because she was "mean" to him. I beleive that the transportation department was negligent in their actions by leaving my child at school. I could not even get to the school untill 6:45 pm to pick him up. he did not come home untill 8:30. past his bedtime. as a result of this incident, I pulled my children out of school.
we have been battling the transportation department to get fair and adequate treatment for our children all year.
there were other incidents where a driver took one of my children (the 4 year old) into the store and bought him gum, and did not do the same for my 5 year old. this was not only unprofessional and unfair to my oldest son, but it caused animosity between my children for the duration of the services provided.
when i approached the supervisor of transportation about this, all he said is that it costs too much to provide adequate services for my children and personally came to hy home to basically tell me that all he would do is provide a dvd player rather thanan asl interpeter.
we beleive that due to this mistreatment on the part of the transportation department, that our oldest son is starting to show serious signs of duress when it comes to school. and we are extremely concerned about his acedemic future.
we feel at this time that we have no other choice but to move to another state where the school will not allow the transportation department to abandon my children at their whim.
now, our question is, was this a violation of my son's civil rights? or discrimination against a child who is unable to speak for himself because he is deaf? is this negligence on the part of the school's transportation department against a deaf child?
isn't this covered in the "no child left behind" act? or the ADA?

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jag

Since your child has an IEP I would assume that you have addressed these issues in it? That may be a place to start. Also while they can refuse to transport children without disablities for whatevr reason it's usually different for those with disablities. You might ant to check the state regulations on that. It may vary from state to state.

You could also check out the wrights law site and see if they have any info on the topic. Do a web search on rights to transportation. In the end it may be better for you to transport your children daily with them reimbursing youf milage. At least for now.

Reba

I don't know what to say. I can't imagine children that young riding a bus alone for such long distances. Scary.

The idea of a bus driver taking a child off the bus and into a store is also scary. Who was watching the other kids in the bus? Who knows what else the driver might do when getting a child alone with him/her?

I hope you can find a better situation.

OpheliaSpeaks

I've worked in special education for approx 10 years now. We have often had to use harnesses for children with diagnosed behavioral difficulties. It is for the child's safety and protection.
I agree with Jag that 2 hours alone on a bus for transportation is a very long time for a young child. Does your son have another diagnosis? How does he behave when you transport him in your vehicle? At 5 years old, a child should have the self-control skills to understand how to behave in a moving vehicle, regardless of whether or not they are able to hear...unless ADD or another diagnosis is preventing this.
Definitely agree with Reba regarding the purchasing of gum for the 4 year old. I have a 4 year old in my care quite often and would never allow a 4 year old to have gum, but that's just my personal opinion. Inappropriate and unprofessional, and that alone is a reportable incident.
A DVD player for a 2 hour bus ride is not unreasonable. I get bored driving long distances myself.
As for your son refusing to get in the vehicle, I'm not sure what would have been a better solution. Was there no teacher to facilitate the transition? Ask why he didn't want to get in? The situation would have been worse all the way around had the driver or aides forced him into the vehicle.
Just throwing some things out there.

dreamchaser

Rheba has a really important point. If a child is that adamant about not wanting to be alone with an adult, there is sometimes other issues. What does your son mean when he says, he was being mean to him? Does he understand anything about violation, good touches, bad touches? something just doesn't sound right to me,,, might be worth asking your child what he meant by mean. 2 hrs alone with a mean adult? What a nightmare, especially is there was any ulterior motives on the drivers part. People that prey on children seek jobs where they can be alone with kids,
Is your son displaying any other strange behavior at home? Change in personality or outgoing attitudes etc? In class how is he? Of course if he were being threatened and afraid of the driver if he said anything about an inappropriate advance or something that scared him, it might cause him to act out in class also... But also, he could have ADD or something...

I do think that you may have some rights here under the ADA. My ASL teacher works with the state to protect the rights of the disabled. I will email her about your situation. May I copy your post and send it to her? what state do you live in? If she doesn't know, she will know how to find out and give sound advice.

good luck... Jeanie

banshe333

ok well to try answer some questions,I don't think my son has ADD, he just has alot of energy and likes to push boundaries. I dont have any diffuculties in the car with him myself, EVEN during long car rides.
his language skills are not too strong, since he has only been learning ASL since he was two. so I can't get a really detailed answer from him of what she did to make him not want to be near her.
there were teachers present to try make the transition easier apparently, but i don't know what all was said or done.
I am not sure if she left him alone in the car, i am not sure if she hurt him... all i know is that she consistently told him "NO' and said "bad" because it was the only ASL she knew. learning positive signs would have been a better strategy if you ask me.
I had reported her to her boss on prior occasions for things like this and for being an HOUR late picking up my son for school, which only resulted in her not speaking to me for two months. nothing was ever done about it.
the odd thing here is that out of all four of my kids hearing and deaf, this child in question is the best behaved of them all. he gives us little to no trouble at home. and for a five year old, I personally think that's great.
we did pull him out of school, we are moving to a different state because of all the troubles we have had with transportation. and now they will only have a 15 minute ride to school. we move this weekend, and the new school is working hard to get them into their school program ASAP. i have done all the iep paperwork already, we are having a meeting monday, and he should be in the new school by mid next week.

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VamPyroX

It does happen for some schools.

When I was a kid, there was only one mainstream school with a good deaf program (with interpreters too). So, all the kids within 10 to 15 miles from the school would be picked up by buses and taken to those schools.

For the elementary school, junior high school, and high school in one city... kids came from that city plus at least 7 other cities.

Now, they've split the program into two cities since there are more kids now and they wanted to make it easier.

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IslandBreeze07

Not to start anything, my two cents only.

And, they tend to believe the bus drivers more! When I was a kid attending a deaf school, I accidently dropped a roller skate and it went straight for the accelerator(sp). I did not even know what it was at the time. Imagine being so young and learning the word accelerator!?!? I tried telling the head woman it was an accident. The driver isn't a nice woman anyway. Sheesh.

IMO, two hours each way is too long for anyone, let alone a toddler. I'd rather DRIVE. Or MOVE. Thanks for sharing.

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jillio

I just wanted to say the head of the transportation dept. was in complete error. Saying that it costs too much to provide adequate services, especially as related to an educational setting, is not justifiable under the ADA.

I am assuming that your district school holds his IEP, and sent him to the deaf school, and therefore are responsible for his transportation. The people providing the transportation contract with the school district. It is the school district that is ultimately resposnible under the law. If they are contracting with an inadequate provider, then they are responsible.

I do hope that you made the superintendant's office aware of these problems. It might not be a bad idea to file a written complaint with the school district, and forward a copy to the transportation company, the State Dept. of Education, and the Dept. of Justice.

banshe333

I have complained to them all. with no response. I am now considering a civil suit.

....plus, they lost my son's hearing aids.

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shel90

Is the deaf school or the county where u live in responsilbe for transportation?

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Babyblue

OH wow! How irresponsible of them!!

Well I hope you come out ahead because their behavior is outrageous..

deafskeptic

Also which VSDB is this? The one in Staunton or Hampton?

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shel90

I missed this post when I made my post.

I am glad that you are taking action to move but I wonder if u still can file complaints or speak out about this so they wont do this to other children?

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banshe333

the county.

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banshe333

staunton. and it appears that next year it will be the only deaf school in virginia from what i have been told.

but i do stress, the school was fine. the problem is with the transportation.

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banshe333

that is my whole motivation. they had no problems accomodating my hearing child, who is also special ed. but they sure had trouble accomodating my deaf kids!

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shel90

I am not surprised cuz we have the same problem in Maryland with the county buses. Most of the bus drivers and aides do not know more than 10 signs. We offer them free ASL classes but they arent interested and since they arent employed by the state, we cant remprimand them. Our students complain about getting unfair treatment from them due to the communication barriers.

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jillio

Find a civil rights attorney familiar with the ADA and gofor it. You might wantto drop an email to the NAD legal and advocacy dept, tell them your story, and ask them for a referral to a good attorney. It has been my experience that they respond promptly to emails of this nature.

Reba

Did they have to ride the buses? Couldn't the parents drive the little ones, especially pre-school and lower elementary age?

jillio

They could. But when my son was being bused to St. Rita, there was no way that I could get him to school on time and get myself to work on time. Likewise, he was dismissed in the afternoon before I got off work. As a single parent, my woring was necessary to out survival. Sometimes it is necessary for a parent to rely on the busing, and we have the right to expect that our children will b e safe and treated fairly. Under the law, every child is entitled to a "free and approprioiate education." If that can't be provided in the home district, then the home district is responsible for insuring that it is provided elsewhere. Transportation to that location is a part of their responsibility.

deafskeptic

Good luck with your move and I'm sorry you had so much trouble with the Va dept of transportation. Hopefully the new state/county will be more flexiable with your child's needs. If they had no trouble for your hearing child who's in special ed but only with your deaf kids, something stinks here. Too bad they can't stay at VSDB as it's such a beautiful place.

Where are you moving to?

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banshe333

we are now in indianapolis. the kids love ISD and everything s going well.
they will now only have a 15 minute drive.

I will keep you all posted.

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