By Dr. Linda F. Bluth

Familiarizing oneself with the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) final regulations is no simple matter.

These regulations which implement changes made to Part B of the IDEA Amendments of 1997 (P.L.105-17) are lengthy and complex. According to my ruler the regulations printed back to back, measure at least 3/4 of an inch in density. The regulations represent the first major revision to the act in more than 23 years and are presented in three broad categories.

The first category includes the "Text." The second category is the "Analysis of Comments" and Other Required Items, and the third category is "Technical Assistance Documents". If you wish to review a full copy of the regulations on the Internet, access to an electronic copy is available by going to http://www.ed.gov/news.html. Click on "search" and enter "IDEA."

Transportation Implications
Nearly 6,000 written comments were received in response to the invitation by the secretary of the Department of Education to comment on the proposed regulations that were published in the Federal Register on Oct. 22, 1997. These comments resulted in a number of changes to the final regulations, including transportation.

This article critiques information located in "Appendix A," which provides notice of interpretation (NOI) on IEPs and other selected implementation issues. In the notice of interpretation, Question 33 specifically addresses transportation.

Question: Must a public agency include transportation in a child's IEP as a related service?
Response: As with other related services, a public agency must provide transportation as a related service if it is required to assist the disabled child to benefit from special education. (This includes transporting a preschool-aged child to the site at which the public agency provides special education and related services to the child, if the site is different from the site at which the receives other preschool or day care services.) In determining whether to include transportation in a child's IEP, and whether the child needs to receive transportation as a related service, it would be appropriate to have at the IEP meeting a person with expertise in that area. In making this determination, the IEP team must consider how the child's disability affects the child's need for transportation, including determining whether the child's disability prevents the child from using the same transportation provided to non-disabled children, or from getting to school in the same manner as non-disabled children.

The public agency must ensure that any transportation service included in a child's IEP as a related service is provided at public expense and at no cost to the parents, and that the child's IEP describes the transportation arrangement.

Related Service
Even if a child's IEP team determines that the child does not require transportation as a related service, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, requires that the child receive the same transportation provided to non-disabled children. If a public agency transports non-disabled children, it must transport disabled children under the same terms and conditions.

However, if a child's IEP team determines that the child does not need transportation as a related service, and the public agency transports only those children whose IEPs specify transportation as a related service, and does not transport non-disabled children, the public agency would not be required to provide transportation to a disabled child.

It should be assumed that most children with disabilities receive the same transportation services as non-disabled children. For some children with disabilities, integrated transportation may be achieved by providing needed accommodations such as lifts and other equipment adaptations on regular school transportation vehicles."

After reading Question 33 and the accompanying response, it is typical to ask oneself "How does this impact transportation services?" The bottom line is summarized as follows:

A public agency must provide transportation as a related service if it is required to assist a disabled child to benefit from special education and related services. The IEP (Individualized Education Program) team is responsible for determining eligibility.
At the IEP meeting, a person with expertise in the area of transportation should be present if it is anticipated or known that a child with a disability will need to ride the school bus different from their non-disabled peers.

• In making a determination that a child's disability affects the child's need for transportation, it is essential to determine whether the child's disability prevents the child from using the same transportation provided to non-disabled children.

• The IEP team, including a representative from the transportation office and the parents, should be a part of any discussion or determination concerning the need for specialized equipment and/or services.

• The related transportation must be provided at no cost to the parents. Parents should be fully informed of this entitlement.

• The child's IEP should describe the transportation arrangement if it is different from their non-disabled peers.

• If a school district transports non-disabled children, it must transport disabled children under the same terms and conditions.

When the public agency transports only children whose IEPs specify transportation as a related service, and does not transport non-disabled children, the school district does not have to transport a child if the IEP team decides that the child is not in need of transportation to access special education and related services.

Note: This interpretation gets tricky because of the requirement to assist a disabled child to benefit from special education. Remember, parents have the right to challenge the decision of the IEP team by exercising their procedural safeguard rights including mediation, filing a due process hearing request, writing a letter of complaint to the state Department of Education, or the Office of Civil Rights. Before saying "no" to transportation services, consider the age of the child, their cognitive and physical ability as well as the distance required to travel to receive special education.

The IEP team should ascertain if integrated transportation for disabled children with their non-disabled peers may be achieved by providing needed accommodations such as lifts and other equipment adaptations on regular school transportation vehicles prior to removal.

In summary, the bottom line is all decisions regarding transportation of children with disabilities should be made on a case-by-case basis. One final caution, IDEA regulations strongly emphasize the importance of parent participation in decision-making regarding their child's special education and related services. The practice of unilateral decisions regarding transportation services is a habit to be avoided. Upcoming articles will address other sections of the regulations pertaining to transportation.

Dr. Linda F. Bluth is the branch chief of Community Interagency Services with the Maryland Department of Education's Division of Special Education. She is a nationally recognized expert in special needs transportation. can be reached at Lbluth@aol.com.

Source: Reprinted from School Transportation News, July 1999. All rights reserved.