Summer 2026
BUSING NEWS and SURVEYS (yellow sections updated 7/30/26)
Scroll for 3 White boxes with Fall prep steps to do in early August, Legal reminders, & More news (added 8/3/26)
Visit https://www.pistnyc.org/events and click on a month to find out about volunteer / advocacy opportunities
What’s up with summer services / Que pasa con los servicios del verano
Please fill out this Summer Busing Survey from the Road to Better Busing Coalition which can use the independent data to advocate with school and city leaders: https://forms.gle/vb3PbJq4U1JUfsvZ8 (English) https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebV-bN3JvN5J9oVjgG2Y_cVjwHe1QB93dYzkA0CXjJL1jTpA/viewform (ESPANOL)
The Busing and Transportation Committee of Citywide Council on Special Education has created a survey to address any concerns you may have with air conditioning on your student’s bus. Please fill out the attached survey and CCSE will escalate your concerns to the Office of Pupil Transportation. Survey Link:
Busing Air Conditioning Issue/Problema con el aire acondicionado del autobús/公交车空调问题 – Fill out form
Information on student transportation during July & August starts around minute 29 of this video from NYCPS Division of Instruction and Accessible Learning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsRt3beR6D4
Info sobre el transporte escolar durante julio y agosto empieza al minuto 39 del video arriba. Para tener subtitulos en ESPANOL clic "CC", clic la flor al lado de CC, clic "Auto Translate", selecciona "Spanish"
Reminder of summer session times (not counting Summer Rising placement) and end dates:
If your child’s pickup is later than dismissal time stated here, ask the school what is supposed to happen in between.
Please make sure your student’s bus driver, monitor, and company are aware of the last day your child needs busing, in case the route has people from more than one program.
-Nest & Horizon camps are both 8am to 12 noon, Monday to Thursday only, last day August 6.
-District 75 and AIMS services are both 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 pm, Monday through Friday, last day August 13. -Extended School Year for other IEP placements is 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., last day August 12.
- Summer Rising for grades K-5 is 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, last day August 14.
- Summer Rising for grades 6-8 is 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, last day August 7. [SR famiies with students who are eligible for busing have the option of taking a bus which departs at 3pm or stay until 6pm and receive rideshare services if eligible. Visit nyc.gov/summerrising for more information
If, after the first few days of the program, the bus is arriving near, at, or after 8:00 a.m., then you, the school, and bus staff need to report it as a problem route (in addition to doing the survey above).
Review steps for addressing route concerns https://www.pistnyc.org/resources/bus-problems
Accurate information about phone numbers and names is critical to workers on special education routes. Because the blank Bus Emergency Contact Card on the NYCPS website lacks translations of safety questions and has tiny spaces, a PIST member created a fillable version, attached.
Important steps to help minimize Fall route communication problems:
If student is changing schools in September, parent or guardian should try to catch the new principal or transportation coordinator NOW to clarify whether or not the student will need busing, and which accommodations are mandated if any (especially a bus para, who has to be recruited!) Public schools receive IEPs electronically – but may need to be alerted to look up child’s transportation page and submit the information to OPT before that office sends routes to the bus companies. In many cases, the person designated as TC does not have access to IEPs….
Even if a student is returning to the same school as in June, it doesn't hurt for the family to contact school administrators NOW to make sure they have entered the most current address and best phone information in the systems which communicate to OPT and companies. Adding a cell number on NYCSA or on a blue card the day after school starts is not enough. https://www.pistnyc.org/resources/fixing-contact-info
After the end of summer programs, Public school principals have about two weeks off and Assistant Principals have about three weeks off. Labor Day is late this year, so the official first day back for teachers and other staff is Tuesday Sept 8. Reply pistnyc@gmail.com if you have more precise calendar information.
Legal reminders for school bus families (we are not lawyers but it’s a start)
Recordatorios legales para las familias de los usuarios del autobús escolar (aunque no somos abogados)
If your child lost services during the school day this summer, only because the bus route got them there late and/or took them away early, they still have a right to Compensatory Services. Consult with an advocacy agency or citywide council for free advice on this. Gather the attendance information from the school’s office, and any other documentation to show it was not your fault.
If you had to pay to transport your own student because of no bus route, no bus driver / paraprofessional / nurse / monitor on any given day, or if the rideshare you booked was canceled by the app, you should be eligible for reimbursement since specialized transportation is a related service under IDEA (20 U.S.C. 1401(26)).
Please follow the steps at www.pistnyc.org/resources/reimbursement-reembolso
Si usted tuvo que pagar para transportar a su propio estudiante debido a que no hay ruta de autobús, ruta altamente problemática, no hay conductor / para / enfermera / matrona en un día determinado, o si el viaje compartido que reservó fue cancelado por la aplicación, usted debe ser elegible para el reembolso ya que el transporte especializado es un servicio relacionado según la ley IDEA de 2004 (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(26)).
Por favor, siga los pasos en www.pistnyc.org/resources/reimbursement-reembolso Traducción al español pendiente.
If the route was reported by the school / parents/ driver / bus company as a problem route and OPT did not correct it, you can also argue for reimbursement eligibility.
Si la ruta fue reportada por el colegio / padres de familia / conductor / compañía de autobuses como problemática y el OPT no la corrigió, también puedes argumentar la elegibilidad para el reembolso.
According to https://intro.nyc/local-laws/2019-33: No later than 15 days before the start of the school year, the department shall provide, by electronic means, to authorized parents and guardians of students who receive school bus transportation services the [route information].
Public school starts Sept 10 so we figure August 26 the routes belong on NYCSA. If you do not have access, arrange with the school NOW to give you someone to ask by email in late August.
Según la ley, la ruta que empieza el 10 de septiembre debe aparecer en NYCSA el 26 de agosto.
Student Transportation News / Noticias sobre el transporte escolar
PIST Action flyer is below, mostly in English. Please take to events for Disability Pride Month.
Employee Protection Provision update: The Albany legislative cycle ended without enacting a school bus EPP law that prioritizes retention of the most experienced Drivers & Attendants, for safety & stability. We look forward to a new, more passable version in January. Meanwhile please continue to circulate this statewide petition, which has over six thousand signatures: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/help-improve-bus-service-for-nyc-students/ and bring up the issue with candidates for Governor.
Regarding the school bus driver shortage, loss of Haitian TPS is not helping!
A SCOTUS ruling means Temporary Protected Status for asylum seekers from Haiti and Syria will expire this July 27th unless Congress intervenes (Senate Bill 4814) or the individuals get permanent status such as through their employers. This affects fifty thousand citizen children also!
Haitian leaders outline immediate steps for TPS holders, citizens, allies and service groups as the fight shifts from the courts to Congress https://haitiantimes.com/2026/07/08/what-to-do-now-haitian-tps-community-action-guide/
Youth podcast P.S. Weekly’s episode about the NYC school bus crisis came out June 11. They interviewed PIST and featured a student and parent who have been leaders in PIST activities over the last six years.
Article with link to audio: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/06/04/ps-weekly-nyc-school-bus-delays-students-with-disabilities/
Spotify:
Apple Podcasts:
Community Education Council 30 in Queens passed a strong resolution on improving standards and governance of NYC student transportation. Contact cec30@schools.nyc.gov for a copy.
Recent advocacy for budget allocations to guarantee transportation for foster students and to expand travel training for students with disabilities - Keeping on the radar - descriptions at https://advocatesforchildren.org/policy-resource/budget-priorities-2027/
Electric buses are in effect for pre-K routes at one Bronx company https://bronx.news12.com/electric-school-buses-roll-into-the-bronx-bringing-cleaner-air-and-quieter-rides
Electric school buses tapped to shore up fragile US power grids during summer heat https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/electric-school-buses-tapped-shore-up-fragile-us-power-grids-during-summer-heat-2026-07-03/
Parent’s ongoing petition for cameras inside the school bus: https://c.org/7j5RkwfbzG
Youth from the Expand Student OMNY campaign delivered letters from community organizations to NYCPS when school ended. https://www.instagram.com/p/DaORJ_dTdoY/ Petition continues at https://act.transalt.org/a/expand-student-omny
Transit Equity advocates of all ages are urged by the CEC 8 Transportation Committee to protestify at the MTA about needing OMNY access for yellow bus riders. Likely dates include the mornings of July 27 and 29. Check pistnyc.org/events for details as they are announced.
More Student Transportation News as of 8/3
Rare article about how students miss days due to shortage of school bus paras https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/07/15/nyc-school-paraprofessional-shortage-leaves-students-with-disabilities-stranded/ includes photos of PIST at events
NYC only collects part of the Medicaid funding for related services of Speech, OT and PT https://www.amny.com/news/parents-fed-up-special-education-system-flaws-nyc-schools-funding/ includes comments by bus parents.
Note: The NCYPS don’t even try to collect reimbursement for Specialized Transportation, despite committing to do so in 2021. In 2023 the Federal government restricted this reimbursement to only certain medical codes (involving the nature of the vehicle, or extra services such as bus para or bus nurse, but not the matron/ monitor).
The record-keeping is a big obstacle; at $51M so far, Via GPS is not one of the software packages which gather bus attendance to document eligibility. We have been talking about this since the UFT explained it in 2013, when Mayor Bloomberg claimed that attacking union rights of school bus workers to Employee Protection Provisions (EPP) was done “to save money.”
Students from the Transportation Alternatives Youth Activist Committee spoke at the July PEP meeting to promote action on the resolution to Expand Student OMNY to all public school students, even those who ride the yellow bus or walk, & make other improvements to the program. https://act.transalt.org/a/expand-student-omny has their petition.
Parents and educators also spoke in favor of OMNY and better organized summer busing, and against the unchecked use of generative Artificial Intelligence in schools. Check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/PISTNYC/permalink/3082043968651953
IMPORTANT: Resources Available for NYers Affected by Recent Federal Temporary Status Revocation for Haitians and Syrians
New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities sent this bulletin:
https://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/NYOPWDD-41fcd97