Earlier this week, OPT posted September-June bus routing information for most students who take the bus. All you need to look up your child’s bus route information is your child’s OSIS number (student ID number assigned by the DOE, which can be found on your child’s IEP) and your child’s date of birth. For “Education Type” select “Special Ed/Fall.”
Busing is a perennial source of worry and confusion for parents at the start of each school year, even for those who have been through the process before. Read our past blog posts for more information on who is entitled to busing and how to troubleshoot common problems.
Finally, you may have heard in the news this week that GPS is finally coming to school buses in September. This is welcome news, but unfortunately, somewhat misleading: it doesn’t mean that parents are going to have an app to track the bus on their phones any time soon (despite the law requiring this by September).
The new partnership between OPT and its contractor Via has just begun, and the DOE has refused to even provide a timeline for the release of an app for families. For now, however, it does mean that OPT says it will know where a school bus is when parents call.
Last year, our firm worked with Council Member Ben Kallos on the idea for this legislation. Along with many parents and other education advocates, we testified about the issue at City Hall. We are proud of our advocacy, and we share in your disappointment that the DOE has started the year unapologetically behind schedule and in violation of city law.