July2025
Events of interest and a few summer resources. Check back each week in case more events, flyers or translations are added.
July 2025 Update from Parents to Improve School Transportation
Contents:
Virtual Bus Route Clinic Friday July 11 at 1-2 p.m.
Resources for summer school transportation
Calendar of events this month
Status of school bus legislation and TPS to retain workers
1/ Virtual Bus Route Clinic Friday July 11 at 1-2 p.m. No route? No bus para? No AC/ climate control? No code/ explanation about ‘rideshare’?
Drop in with your issues and let’s exchange information on how to escalate bus complaints.
Depending on the situation we may also refer you to certain journalists.
Volunteers without issues can attend to help others!
Friday July 11 at 1:00 p.m. for an hour.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85016387804?pwd=dWzfHavsvFxJ2UVBNHSxrAooT6hbxO.1
Meeting ID: 850 1638 7804 Passcode: SAFETY
2/ Resources for summer school transportation
Here are some items which bus families might find useful right now:
Social story on having different bus staff now than in June - the student or you can fill in their name: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oqlox14TnVAxwG8g7yVWa2ExaRw5kO_Md5t3L9iOVnU/edit?usp=sharing
Bus emergency contact card to list up to 4 adults who can meet the special ed route, and to sign whether the student may or may not be left unsupervised, Below last item
Guide to Rideshare (requires a designated adult chaperone): https://www.facebook.com/share/p/PncQZxG4fWY2tea9/
Example of how the summer rideshare codes look:
3. Calendar of July 2025 Events:
Fri July 11 from 1:00 - 2:00 PM
PIST bus route clinic - let’s help each other make effective complaints
Virtual https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85016387804?pwd=dWzfHavsvFxJ2UVBNHSxrAooT6hbxO.1#success
Meeting ID: 850 1638 7804 Passcode: SAFETY
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Sun July 13: 10 a.m. to noon
Disability Unite festival
Central Park Manhattan - Visit booth #14 [CWA 1180] to get PIST flyers
xxxxxxxxxx Transit Equity event:
Wednesday, July 16th: 12:00 to 1:30 PM
QueensLink/NYPIRG rally for better transit connections across the borough!
Intersection of Austin Street & 63rd Drive, Rego Park
Stand with community members, transit advocates, and elected officials as NYPIRG releases its new report on QueensLink. The report highlights student voices and over 1,500 petition signatures.
RSVP: https://forms.gle/WzMdmm4o72PuM5i16
xxxxxxxxxx Transit Equity event:
Thurs July 17: 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Info session on accessible transportation for adults
Sponsored by NYC Dept. Of Transportation with other guests
Register at bit.ly/navigatenyc
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Thursday, July 17, 2025 6:30 p.m.
Citywide Council on Special Education - Introduction of 2025-2027 CCSE Members
Meet the Council and Hear About the 2025-2026 Council Priorities & Meeting Topics
*In Person = Tweed Courthouse, 52 Chambers Street – 2nd fl. Conf. Rm New York, N.Y 10007
*Please register in advance (by noon on July 17) at ccse@schools.nyc.gov, if you plan to attend in person. Space is very limited.
**Via Zoom Register https://zoom.us/meeting/register/jXDehu3vTAqxR7q1LPpOEA
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Interpretacion en espanol: LLAME 347-966-4114 , MARCA: 811 613 846#
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Fri July 18: 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
PIST Virtual Volunteer meeting
Trends and status of summer bus problems, preparing for PEP & ADA35 march
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82470154849?pwd=EkGoVlJygHnxz7MZPqMQC2OT5x0tK1.1#success Meeting ID: 824 7015 4849 Passcode: 937177
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Wednesday July 23 in Manhattan at 6:00 p.m.
Comment about summer busing contracts at the monthly Panel for Education Policy meeting
REPORT AND VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1165246682310057&set=gm.2731747530348267&idorvanity=173433159513063
Our school board is expected to approve $89 Million in emergency 30-day school bus contracts for this July and August alone, because the main contracts have expired. The members, the politicians who appoint most of them, Education reporters and the public at large need to get used to hearing strong feedback from those of us whose loved ones ride the bus...because even bigger contracts are on the horizon, and there will be a new pair of school bus bills in Albany to legislate EPP and create an opening for terms of DOE contracts with companies to be re-negotiated. Nobody knows better than the riders, loved ones, school staff & school bus staff what works and doesn’t work to raise the standards for routes, vehicles, communication, training and prevention/solution to violations of IEP accommodations.
Contracts are always early in the agenda. The descriptions are published already at https://www.schools.nyc.gov/docs/default-source/data/contracts-agendafbd18671-0e1c-42f3-9398-e29139f73bdd.pdf?sfvrsn=b81e0f4a_1
Read Item 31, costs of (and cases against) Pre-K companies, pages 77-85
or Item 33, costs of (and cases against) school age companies, pages 97-111,
and notice what comes to your heart and mind. Don’t let them talk about the bus without us!
In person M.S. 131 (100 Hester Street, Manhattan, New York 10002)
To speak, you must register between 5:30 to 6:15 on the same day at https://learndoe.org/pep/jul23/
Remote- use the same link but you can only listen! ~
Either way, we hope everyone will submit written comments!
TIPS:
We have a sample statement at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1orDtT-ECu9YRJRxTWhDJdUfIEH-Fsz66aF8ZPqWw3Kc/edit?usp=sharing It is set up for you to copy, check boxes that apply, and add your own experience in your own words!
If you have “google docs” you can select FILE, choose MAKE A COPY from the dropdown and go to work, deleting and revising however you wish. When you are done, you can highlight, copy and get ready to paste in the Public Comment Form linked below. If you don’t have google docs you can either edit it inside the Public Comment Form or in any word processing software that you have.
Note: depending on your computer, the shortcut is usually [Command or Ctrl or Apple] + the letter A to highlight everything, then [Command or Ctrl or Apple] + the letter C to copy everything. The last step when you get to the end of the Comment Form is hitting [Command or Ctrl or Apple] + the letter V to paste everything.
Open the form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSezM7S0zfCMXb_BiXecJSnxsfL1E27CbCTwT0TflzuZbe3cAQ/viewform
If that link doesn’t work, please open https://www.schools.nyc.gov/get-involved/families/panel-for-education-policy and click on the words Written Public Comment Form found under the 3 dark blue rectangles.
Enter your information. The subject of your comment is Contracts. The last line is for you to write (or paste) your statement.
This form does not include a way for you to upload images or PDFs. We don’t notice any way to use Speech to Text or other accommodations. If you need to do any of that, please contact PIST 631.743.6296 and we can find a way together.
The post at https://www.pistnyc.org/events/72325PEP will have all this info + flyer + travel directions and more
Please share that link widely ~~~ Hope to see you Wednesday!
xxxxxxxxxx #TransitEquity #DisabilityPrideMonth
Thursday July 24 10-11:30am
WEBINAR. OVERVIEW OF MTA PROGRAMS AND SERVICES.
ADAPT Community Network is hosting a free webinar on July 24th from 10-11:30am where they will provide an overview of the Reduced Fare, Access-A-Ride services and the OMNY program. Highlights will include how to make reservations, resources available to help you travel, and how to find out more about the services.
Learn more >> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-A6hFWBEAd5nNLWeLL_uDqIUxzIzzBfC/view?usp=sharing (PDF).
Register By Phone: (718) 436-7979, Extension 5139.
Register online: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ruXOEuZ5QmK6AF4hVLApxA
Register by email: familyconnect@adaptcommunitynetwork.org
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Saturday July 26 starting 11 a.m.
#ADA35NYC = Americans with Disabilities Act Civil rights law 35th anniversary
20 minute Rally with community speakers, then a brief March / Roll / Stroll
Washington Square Park Arch, Fifth Ave. and 8th Street, Manhattan
near West 4th Street A, B, C, D, E, F subway station
To meet up, write pistnyc@gmail.com or text 631.743.6296
~Help us raise the banner of school bus riders’ civil rights to get to school on time and safely~
Oppose the threats against healthcare and other survival benefits for disabled people
INFO https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FZIp5Lrh5_qj8beZk673ehc0vO-Nsaav51DZy1Lqg1I/edit?usp=sharing
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Images from the July 26 march, that PIST has posted so far, are at
https://x.com/pistnyc/status/1949230529162916033 , https://x.com/pistnyc/status/1949125064604930276
https://www.instagram.com/p/DMlNHjxOIck/?img_index=1 , https://www.instagram.com/p/DMlLdSnucUa/ , https://www.instagram.com/p/DMkznLVO-OB/
There is full footage at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeEdz4AeG8M including the rally speakers with ASL interpreters.
For other people’s photos and video search #ADA35NYC
Flyer: Image of a group of people standing and in wheelchairs behind a colorful banner reading ‘ELEVATORS ARE FOR EVERYONE’.
Black text in pink highlighting: Fix the Elevators! Settle the Case! It’s rally time again! Our elevator maintenance case is not settled and of course the elevators do not stop breaking down, at least 30 breakdowns every day!
Black text: Monday July 28, 2025, 2 Broadway (MTA Headquarters) Rally 8:45 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Rain or shine. It’s been over 8 years since the elevator maintenance case was filed in April 2017. It’s time to stop stalling, fix the elevators and settle the case! Let’s make our voices heard!
Flyer for rally July 30, 2025 on the 60th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid. Includes photo of a past march to defend healthcare benefits; QR code and link bit.ly/60in2025; many organization logos including doctor and retiree groups.
4. Status of school bus legislation and TPS
Locally, on June 18 the Panel for Education Policy passed a resolution by unanimous consent favoring the EPP solution to the school bus contract dilemma and a 1 year limit on renewals. Video at https://learndoe.org/pep/archive-pep-jun18-2025/ includes comments by students, PIST NYC members, The Road to Better Busing Coalition, United Federation of Teachers staff, and PEP members who have personal experiences with school bus struggles. Previously the Citywide Council for District 75 had passed a resolution supporting S 1018.
Next steps: Urge sponsors to promptly introduce the same wording with new bill numbers. Educate your elected officials, community boards, unions, education councils, and PTAs to support this by all means. Talk it up at the events on the calendar above. Stay tuned for an updated petition to share statewide!
Meanwhile we continue to follow the legal battle over Temporary Protective Status for people born in Haiti, including some school bus workers. Recent progress and continuing dangers are summarized at https://haitiantimes.com/2025/07/03/what-is-tps-haitians-2025/
Scan of two sided Emergency Contact card. The back is upside down above the front which is right side up. We share this because OPT refuses to mail it home and the only PDF on the DOE website is missing the back which contains translations of crucial questions for student safety! If your child rides a yellow bus due to a Specialized Transportation mandate on their IEP, IESP or 504, you should be invited to fill out a card like this for every new route and crew. Ask the bus attendant if they have one to give you. If not, make a copy for them, one for yourself and one for the school principal.