May A Student With A Disability Be Suspended From The Bus?

According to South Carolina's Office of Exceptional Children Policies and Procedures released April 6, 2009, the answer is "yes". Children with disabilities may be suspended from using public school transportation even though they are not suspended from school. However, bus suspension may affect the LEA's requirement to provide FAPE. If special education services are needed for the child to receive a FAPE and the child needs transportation to receive special education services, transportation would be needed and must be addressed by the IEP team. The following guidance to LEAs to determine if school days for bus suspension count as school days for change of placement and provision of services may be useful:

• The LEA is always required to provide a FAPE. If a child with a disability can not get to school to benefit from special education services, it is likely that the school is required to continue to provide transportation in some manner.
• If transportation is specified as a realted service on the IEP, school days of suspension from bus transportation would count in determining if a change of placement occurs and in the provision of services unless the LEA provides transportation some other way.
• If transportation is NOT required as a related service under the IEP, school days of suspension from the bus should NOT count as school days of suspension for change of placement and provision of services. In such cases, the child's parents have the same obligation to get the child to and from school as a child without disabilities who has been suspended from the bus (unless the parents can not provide the needed transportation). Also, if bus transportation is not included on the IEP, the comments to the regulations suggest a suspension from transportation privilieges may indicate the IEP team should consider whether that behavior on the bus should be addressed within the IEP or a BIP for the child. (Federal Register, August 14, 2006, p. 46715).