FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2022 AT 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
School bus rights press conference for TRANSIT EQUITY DAY
65 Court St, Brooklyn, NY
Who: NYC school bus riders’ families and advocates
Why: announce 2022 campaign for a School Bus Bill of Rights referendum. Where: in front of the Dept of Education’s Contracts office
What: to discuss problems and solutions for student transportation justice.
Why now?
*February 4, the birthday of Rosa Parks, is Transit Equity Day; we say this equity should begin with the youngest riders!
**In the time of Covid-19, crowded buses that each serve multiple schools are a public health risk.
Why there?
*The current system –of awarding route contracts to the lowest bidders– has led to lower quality conditions, civil rights violations and human suffering for riders, and 8 years of attrition in the school bus workforce. The DOE must take responsibility to provide safer, shorter, more stable and fully staffed school bus routes for all who need them.
**We want to know where the Covid Relief / Infrastructure money is going–how much of the budget for this public service goes to private profits, and how much actually benefits the people on the bus?
OUR TOP DEMANDS:
1) Stop making route decisions that undermine educational access for students with disabilities and for students in transitional housing.
2) Reverse the driver & attendant shortage by restoring Employee Protection Provisions and expanding all layers of pandemic control measures.
3) Recruit and retain more school bus paras and nurses, so students with urgent behavioral or medical issues can get to school every day.
4) Empower a panel of true stakeholders to oversee all policy decisions, from enhanced training to realistic transportation plans for Academic Recovery/ Special Education Recovery services.
5) Provide proactive communication in all home languages and don’t rely only on the internet!
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