Innisfil family relieved school transportation for special needs child is reinstated
The family of an Innisfil boy living with special needs, whose school transportation was taken away earlier this year by the school board, says he's getting his ride back.
On Monday, Brendan Drodge told CTV News his 11-year-old boy Wyatt will continue riding in his school van until at least the end of the school year.
According to Drodge, the decision was made last week following a controversial Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) decision to review and remove transportation for students with special needs who live within the board's designated walking distance from schools.
The walking zone is 1.6 kilometres for elementary school students and 3.2 for high schoolers.
RELATED
- Barrie family wins 4-month battle for son's school bus service to be reinstated
- Parents of students with special needs upset over SCDSB bus changes
Drodge said the school board had granted Wyatt an additional six weeks of transportation before it was taken away, pending an appeal.
The board says the initial decision was part of an annual review of transportation for students within walking zones of schools to promote student independence in the community.
Drodge and several other local families were shocked to hear the news around Christmas their children were no longer eligible for school van transportation.
"It's going to mean that he can't go to school," Drodge said in an interview with CTV News in February, explaining his son was unable to board a school bus packed with children and instead required a van.
"Frankly, the disruption he's had already is unacceptable," said Drodge.
The school board insisted the decision to review school transportation did not target students with special needs, as many parents had claimed, and while the board has a $2 million transportation deficit, chairperson Jodi Lloyd said the decision was not based on money.
"If we have special education students who require specialized transportation, most certainly we provide that for those students," said Lloyd in a February interview.
"Our goal and objective for all of our students, and especially our special education students are to create independence and self-sufficiency so that when they leave the board, they can operate and be self-sufficient within their community," she said.
Drodge said an offer by the board to extend van transportation for six weeks was scheduled to end soon, but he's not been promised transportation for Wyatt will continue until the end of June.
"Decisions like this that impact the children and their family so much, at the very least, should have parental input," argued Drodge.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
BREAKING Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.