RI may issue executive order amid issues with Dattco school buses | ABC6

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Rhode Island Department of Education has issued a response to local advocates who claimed that students with disabilities were stranded both on their way to and from school by the busing company employed by the state.

RIDE expanded its contract with DATTCO for busing this school year.

Officials hoped for a smooth transition, but in a recent letter sent by RIDE, they knew a problem was coming before the school year even started.

The letter from RIDE states they were informed around August 28 that DATTCO was considering what they described as “double runs,” which would include one bus driver handling two separate routes runs.

According to the department, they received a plan in the early hours of September 3 that explained children on those routes would be delayed by an average of nearly 2 hours.

Officials from DATTCO have since admitted that those routes were not suitable for the districts it serves.

In the days since these issues, organizations like the ACLU sent a letter to ride, asking for accountability and solutions, writing:

It is inexcusable that even one route was not properly planned for, much less the plethora of routes that were left unattended for this school year, and that there does not appear to be a timeline for immediately addressing the problem.

In RIDE’s response, they address a range of options from the letter.

The department says it is looking into options to address the situation, including an executive order from the governor’s office and assigning staff to answer parent’s concerns.

Any impacted parents can reach out RIDE for reimbursement of transportation costs they incurred after this incident.

There’s still no exact timeline for this issue to be addressed.