The Virginia Department of Education has launched an investigation into whether Chesterfield County Public Schools’ transportation division is violating federal and state rules regarding accommodations for students with special needs, a VDOE spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.
In a Jan. 23 notice sent from VDOE to CCPS Superintendent John Murray and special education director Summer Manos, the education department relayed a complaint alleging that Chesterfield school buses that carry students on individualized education programs or 504 plans — specialized plans that require accommodations for students with disabilities — are not carrying copies of those plans.
“Complainant alleges that: 'The Transportation Division of Chesterfield County Public Schools admits that it does not carry IEPs/504s on Buses/Transportation for special education students,'” the notice reads.
That means bus drivers might not have the information they need to correctly follow those plans if a student needs behavioral intervention while on the bus — or suffers a medical event like a seizure or anaphylactic shock.
VDOE said in its notice that the alleged failure to carry those plans could constitute violations of several federal and state laws, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and multiple Virginia regulations governing the implementation of IEPs.
Todd Reid, the VDOE spokesperson, told VPM News in an email that the notice “is a document the Department creates notifying all parties that a formal written complaint has been filed with our office and confirms that said complaint is sufficient for investigation.”
“As the matter is under investigation at this time, we cannot comment further,” Reid added.
Wendy Little, a Chesterfield parent whose son is on the autism spectrum, told VPM News she filed the VDOE complaint. She runs a Facebook page for county parents whose children have special needs and said in a phone interview that several parents talked to her last school year about incidents when transit providers seemed unprepared to handle students' needs.
Little described one incident in which a child on the autism spectrum ended up on a bus without the noise-canceling headphones he used to prevent episodes. She said the sound of a siren outside the bus led to an episode that the driver didn't know how to handle.
"It's educational neglect, it is medical neglect," she said. "It's almost no different than having a kid in a wheelchair without any ramps being made available."
A CCPS spokesperson told VPM News by email that the division was aware of the complaint and would "work closely with VDOE for an appropriate resolution."
The school division has until Thursday to provide an initial response to VDOE’s Office of Dispute Resolution and Administrative Services, and until Feb. 20 to submit additional information to ODRAS. VDOE said it plans to issue the investigation's findings by March 14.
