No bus matron?

DS (in CPSE) takes the bus to and from his school. He gets dropped off at my in-laws after school. My in-laws told me that there was no matron on the bus the last two days.

When I called the bus company they told me that the matron is paid for by the school district. They changed the route and two children are no longer on his bus. I was told that one of those kids' school district paid for the bus matron. It appears that the school districts of the remaining kids do not pay for the matron.

Does this sound correct? I want to call the school's transportation department but I'm not sure that they can do anything.

There are only 4 kids on the bus now including DS. My only concern is the bus driver should concentrate on driving not tending to kids that may be crying, bored, etc. All the kids are 3-4 so they are all strapped in car seats. My in-laws told me that the bus driver unbuckles them since there is no longer a matron.

I'm wondering if I should push for a matron or not.

Re: No bus matron?

Does your IEP state that you have door to door transportation with a matron? If so, they should have one. When my DS was in preschool, the school told us that we should always request the matron at an IEP meeting, to ensure that he would have one on the bus, to avoid exactly what has happened to you.

I am not sure, but I think the county may pay for the bus when they are in CPSE. I would contact the special ed office in your district and find out if his door to door transportation includes a matron. If not, request that it be added and ask for a meeting if you have to. It could be a miscommunication between the bus company and the districts - perhaps no one notified the other districts that this kid was no longer on the bus, so there is now no matron? I think generally, it's in everyone's best interest to have a matron on the bus, but the bus companies are not always so on the ball and if they aren't getting paid for one, I can see them just pulling the matron off the bus.

Re: No bus matron?

Contact your school district and ask for a Matron Request Form. Have your pediatrician fill it out and then send it back to the school. As long as one child requires a matron on the bus they have to provide one. We live in Nassau County.

No bus matron?

Thanks! I contacted the transportation department and they instructed me to have my ped complete the Matron Request form and submit it to the school district.

I appreciate the responses because it helped me articulate the problem when I called.