Excerpt from: New York Times (click for full article)
More than 110,000 children have had to find new ways to class since most drivers walked out on Wednesday in a dispute between their union and the city. None have been more profoundly affected than the tens of thousands of special-needs children and their parents, who tend to travel the longest distances, and for whom even walking out the door can be a challenge.
“This is catastrophic,” said Rachel Howard, director of Resources for Children with Special Needs, a nonprofit organization. “The more vulnerable and severely disabled the child, the more catastrophic it is.”
While attendance at most schools is at normal levels, some special-education programs are half empty. The city’s Education Department said 62 percent of special-education students showed up on Friday, compared with 49 percent on Thursday.
Only about one-third of the children who receive bus service in the city are in special-education programs, but they account for most of the busing costs because of limitations on how long they can ride and how many other children they can ride a bus with, as well as requirements for extra attendants and door-to-door escorting.
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