Ohio Public Schools cancel buses for thousands of children during transportation to private schools

Public school areas canceled the transport of buses to thousands of high school students again this year, while in some cases they are still transferring students to private and rental schools to avoid sharp fines under the requirements of the state. In Dayton, the StopGAP voltage was restored that gives students to public transport passes instead of temporarily riding school buses by the judge last week. This came after prosecuting the province, claiming that the state illegally restricted the program.

The crisis for horse riding as well as Bus driver shortage The school transport regulations in Ohio doubled and expanded to a Global vouchers program To help pay students to enroll private schools. The provinces have been asked for years to transport students who have Edchoice vouchers, but disputes on how to do this intense because the program has added approximately 90,000 students over the past four years.

Public dollars for students for the meeting

Public education defenders argue that Ohio state is not flexible, vague and expensive.

It makes public school areas responsible for the transfer of K-8 students to private or rented schools, even on boycott days or when buses collapse. It also requires the areas to expand any transportation service they provide to high school students to each of the high school staff in a private school or rented in the same area.

Some large areas responded by canceling bus service completely to secondary schools, providing transit permits in the city, where public school students are available or to find their own ride. These provinces still have to have a private sector bus if these students are not notified in a specific time frame.

“Knowing that they have to take these public dollars to turn into other entities is not a fair situation, and I do not think this is true,” said Ronnie Tingel, my mother, Dietton, in the seventh grade who rides the school bus that teenagers in the public school must take the city bus.

Her daughter, Swilloni Tengel, a senior, begins her morning in checking an application for the date of the public bus to stop her. She said that his ride is “not bad”, but learning methods, picking up communications and accessing school on time can be a challenge with the fluctuation of access times.

David Lawrence, the director of David David Lawrence, is called that the Legislative Commission led by Republicans has transferred approximately $ 2.5 billion in financing government education for the vouchers program over the next two years-and still requires public areas of transportation for feet for these students. His region runs 54 buses for its students and 74 for non -general students, according to the data collected by the Ohio 8 coalition, which represents the eight regions.

Lawrence said that the Diton region can easily provide buses for all public school students if the state ends some requirements related to the transfer of voucher students.

“If we do not have to transfer rented schools and tight students, we can transfer all our students from door to door from K to 12.” He said that this would also help eliminate the auxiliary issues that have arisen with high school students who are doing their own ways to school, including disturbances in the city buses and threats for their physical safety.

Invoice

Republican Senator Andrew Brenner, a lawyer for the selection of schools who heads the Senate Education Committee, said that he does not believe that financial hardship, logistical nightmares and the challenges of employing drivers create a school transport crisis in Ohio, and claiming public education claims.

He said: “This is a completely inaccurate description.” “What they did is that they exclude all children who have a school option in many areas and they do everything in their power to avoid their transfer.”

Brenner said that the legislators had provided the provinces at $ 1500 for each student to cover the costs of transporting the students of the vouchers, and he accused areas of insulting to a item that allows them to see that the students of the vouchers are “impractical” and made “payment instead of” transfer to these families. The amount ranges from approximately $ 600 to $ 1,200 per student this year to compensate for the costs of families.

Public school areas argue that the transfer of public and private students costs more than the state provides it, which contributes to budget problems. For the largest area of ​​Ohio, the total gap can reach millions of dollars.

Transport burden for parents

Cleveland paid families for 2739 students, and considered them an impractical transfer to private schools this fiscal year, according to state data. Columbus came second on the list, which paid about 2500. The state filed a lawsuit against Columbus schools, accusing Jazicha’s boycott about the transfer of students of the vouchers.

Parents are forced to do so Leave their jobs, and rearrange their lives“The council is still pending,” the Republican Prosecutor Dave Youst said last year.

Columbus defended the decision, on the pretext that non-governmental school students were running-a sophisticated software-based institution whose buses transport more than 16,000 general students and 3400 non-year students along the length of about 450 roads-not practical. The spokesman Mike Brown said the boycott has $ 75 million of the budget this year of transportation, and another $ 15 million for transportation.

Lawrence said that the preparation of Ohio requires the public areas to cover the public expenses of transportation systems. In Dayton, this includes buses that can cost more than $ 150,000 each, which is $ 66,000 per year, a $ 1.1 million maintenance department, and drivers who achieve about $ 22 per hour with average benefits. These wages aim to compensate “”Amazon The effect of “selection drivers Hand over the package On the transfer of children for reasons, including comfort, the timetable for flexibility and payment.

Brenner said he wanted to see more public schools explore the benefits of combining operations inside the provinces to exchange resources.

It argues the largest urban and suburban areas in the state – in Ohio 8 – that legislators can help solve the issue by updating “old” laws and regulations to comply with the current facts.

A study group was created in the last budget, but it is charged with studying only one case: how to transfer non -general students to school on the days when public areas are closed. Its recommendations are due in June 2026.

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