A group of D.C. parents, along with a disability rights organization, alleges in a new lawsuit that the city has failed to transport students with special needs to and from school on time — causing disruptions that they say deprive children of critical time in classes or therapies, create daily uncertainties over schedules, and, in some cases, threaten students’ health.
Washington, D.C
D.C. sued over ‘failure’ to bus kids with disabilities to and from school
Most children in D.C. get to school on public buses and trains. But about 4,000 students rely on a fleet of school buses because they have physical or intellectual disabilities that prevent them from using public transportation or require them to attend faraway schools that offer special services.
Five families and the Arc of the United States nonprofit say the buses often arrive hours after children’s scheduled pickup times and return them home long after school has ended. Parents across the city have reported calling the police because they could not locate their children or using Apple AirTags to track their kids after school, said Kathy Zeisel, director of special legal projects at the Children’s Law Center.
Joann McCray, whose 12-year-old son has autism and who is one of the parents suing the city, said the frequent bus delays forced her to purchase a car. “I didn’t want a car note, but I want to get my son to school on time,” said McCray, who lives in Southeast Washington. She said the busing problems had led to frequent late arrivals at school, affecting her son’s attendance and grades.
McCray and other parents in the city say they have tried other channels — making phone calls, sending emails and complaining to lawmakers — to no avail. Now, they are taking the issue to court. The suit accuses the city, and its Office of the State Superintendent of Education, which manages the buses, of “systemic failures” that violate local policies and federal laws entitling their children to a fair education.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to order D.C. leaders to follow students’ special education plans and provide them with “safe, reliable, and appropriate transportation services.” They have asked for compensatory education to make up for schooling children may have missed, as well as policy changes to prevent future problems.
An OSSE spokesman said the agency does not comment on pending litigation, but officials have previously acknowledged the problems with the school bus service and pointed to a national shortage of drivers. The agency created a website that shows which buses are running behind schedule, reimburses families if they have to make other travel arrangements and is working on a new program to increase the number of drivers.
During a recent D.C. Council hearing, the superintendent’s office shared that 96 percent of buses have left their terminals on time this school year. But that figure does not indicate whether a bus makes it to a child’s house or school on time.
“We do track internally what time the buses get to the school,” Christina Grant, the city’s state superintendent of education, told lawmakers. “What we share out is what time buses leave because that’s the information that gets to parents, and they know that if the bus leaves the terminal 15 minutes late, there’s going to be a trickle-down effect on when the bus is going to show up to … their home.”
But families said the information that the superintendent’s office shares about a bus’s status has been inaccurate. And, according to the lawsuit, families are not notified when their children’s buses encounter delays after leaving the terminal — leaving them unaware of when to expect their children to be picked up or dropped off.
This often triggers a last-minute scramble for different accommodations. Families have reported ordering Ubers or taking time away from work to complete school drop-off or pickup themselves. Crystal Robertson, the guardian of her 11-year-old nephew, who relies on a school bus, has turned to her adult son or teenage niece for help. Robertson’s niece, who is in high school, has been late to school on days when she had to help her brother, she said.
Robertson’s nephew has autism and thrives based on routines, she said. When his bus is late, it throws his entire day off — causing tantrums and making it difficult for him to focus when he finally does get to school. “After that, it’s just pure emotion and panic mode,” she said.
Robertson called her experiences with the superintendent’s office “horrible.” On one occasion, her nephew’s bus driver took him to the wrong school, she said, and another time, he was dropped off in the afternoon at his late mother’s house. Robertson said her family had to split up to find him. “As he’s getting off the bus, he’s excited like he’s going to see his mom,” she said. “To me, [the superintendent’s office] didn’t show no remorse about what they were doing.”
Now, Robertson said, the superintendent’s office sends a private van to pick up her nephew.
But other families are still looking for relief. In addition to late arrivals, the complaint claims that bus drivers have picked children up from school early. Sometimes, students are not picked up from school at all, according to the lawsuit.
The suit also alleges that students have had to endure long bus rides where they couldn’t access food, medications or bathrooms. Other times, buses are missing the supports or accommodations — such as wheelchair accessibility, nurses or aides — that riders with disabilities need.
Elizabeth Daggett, who lives in Brookland, told council members recently that her son came home late once because his bus didn’t have the latch for his safety harness. He had to stay at school until another bus could get him, she said.
“It is already a heavy lift for families to care for a disabled child, but when the support services break down, it is overwhelming,” Daggett wrote in her testimony to lawmakers. “It is unsustainable for families to have to continue to figure out student transportation and unacceptable that OSSE allowed this dire situation to happen.”
Washington, D.C
What’s that noise? What you need to know about D.C. flyovers Friday and Saturday – WTOP News
Reagan National Airport will close for America 250 flyover rehearsals Friday and celebrations Saturday featuring the Thunderbirds, Blue Angels and more.
Reagan National Airport will close from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday for rehearsals ahead of this weekend’s America 250 celebrations, meaning people around D.C., Arlington and Alexandria may hear and see low-flying military aircraft.
According to Freedom 250 event organizers, Friday’s “Wings of Freedom” demonstrations over the National Mall will feature parachute teams, helicopters and military aircraft, including the U.S. Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey and F-35B, the Navy’s F-18F and F-35C, the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor, the Thunderbirds and a tri-bomber formation.
On Saturday, the FAA will close the airport from noon to midnight for the full celebration. All arrivals and departures at Reagan National are scheduled to end before noon.
Flyovers and demonstrations are scheduled throughout the afternoon and evening along the National Mall and Washington Monument grounds, including appearances by Air Force One, the Thunderbirds, Blue Angels, military aircraft fleet reviews, parachute demonstrations and B-2 stealth bombers.
Highlights include an Air Force One flyover scheduled for 7:03 p.m., a Thunderbirds demonstration beginning at 6:25 p.m., a tri-bomber formation at 6:02 p.m. and a stealth aircraft flyover at 7:38 p.m.
Friday’s schedule of flyovers and demonstration rehearsals along the National Mall and Washington Monument
- 10 a.m.: Golden Knights, Leap Frogs
- 10:15 a.m.: Army Helo Flyover
- 10:20 a.m.: USMC V-22 Osprey Demo
- 10:35 a.m.: USMC F-35B STOVL Demo
- 10:50 a.m.: USN F-18F Demo
- 11:10 a.m.: USN F-35C Demo Team
- 11:30 a.m.: USAF F-22 Raptor Demo
- 11:50 a.m.: NASA F-5s
- 12 p.m.: HUGE (1) Formation
- 12:05 p.m.: USAF Thunderbirds
- 12:55 p.m.: USAF Tri-Bomber
Saturday’s schedule of flyovers and demonstration along the National Mall and Washington Monument
- 1:14 p.m.: – NASA F-5 Flyover
- 1:24 p.m.: -NASA Fleet Review
- 1:44 p.m.: USCG Helo Flyover
- 1:54 p.m.: USCG Fixed Wing Flyover
- 2:09 p.m.: Golden Knights, Leap Frogs
- 2:29 p.m.: Army Helo Flyover
- 2:44 p.m.: USAF Fleet Review – Wave 1 – Heavies
- 2:54 p.m.: USAF Fleet Review – Wave 2 – AFSOC
- 3:04 p.m.: USAF Fleet Review – Wave 3 – Fighters
- 3:29 p.m.: Executive Rotary Wing Airlift
- 3:39 p.m.: USMC Fleet Review – Wave 1 – Rotary
- 3:49 p.m.: USMC Fleet Review – Wave 2 – Fixed Wing
- 3:59 p.m.: USN Fleet Review – Wave 1 – Rotary
- 4:09 p.m.: USN Fleet Review – Wave 2 – Fixed Wing
- 4:19 p.m.: USN Fleet Review – Wave 3 – Fighters
- 4:21 p.m.: USN F-18F Demonstration
- 4:59 p.m.: USN Blue Angels
- 5:26 p.m.: USMC MV-22 Osprey Demonstration
- 5:44 p.m.: USAF Fleet Review – Fighters
- 6:02 p.m.: USAF Tri-Bomber Formation
- 6:05 p.m.: USN F-35C Demonstration
- 6:25 p.m.: USAF Thunderbirds Demonstration
- 7:03 p.m.: Air Force One Flyover
- 7:07 p.m.: USAF Thunderbirds Delta Break
- 7:17 p.m.: HUGE 1 Flyover Led by the Newly Renovated Air Force One
- 7:38 p.m.: U.S. Stealth Airpower Flyover
- 7:39 p.m.: F-22 Raptor Demo
- 7:53 p.m.: F-22 Raptor in Afterburner
- 7:59 p.m.: B-1 Flyover
- 8:07 p.m.: B-1’s in Afterburner
- 8:11 p.m.: HUGE ONE Fly Over Review
- 8:22 p.m.: Golden Knights Twilight Jump
- 10:36 p.m.: B-1 Afterburner Night Pass
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An Air Force major was arrested in uniform on the steps of the Capitol after he called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
U.S. Capitol Police arrested Jason Watson, an active-duty service member, on Wednesday afternoon following remarks at a news conference where he said Trump and Vice President JD Vance should be removed from office.
The event was organized by the Removal Coalition, a group that lobbies members of Congress to impeach Trump, and attended by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who has repeatedly introduced articles of impeachment against Trump.
“I’m here with him because Rep. Green is the only member of Congress that has demonstrated the courage and conviction to … force a vote on articles of impeachment,” Watson said at the event. “If Congress followed his example, we could remove the entire Trump administration, but Congress remains unconvinced of the urgency and necessity for them to honor their oaths, so we must persuade them with our unrelenting, uncompromising civil resistance.”
Watson said he is not a Democrat and does not share policy positions with Green, who lost his re-election bid this year. Green’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Watson’s arrest.
Capitol Police said in a statement that it “is generally against the law for the public to demonstrate on the House Steps unless they are with a Member of Congress.”
“Yesterday afternoon, a man was escorted to the House Steps by a Member of Congress,” the statement said. “When the Member of Congress left the area, our officers gave the man lawful orders to stop the illegal demonstration or he would be arrested. The man refused our lawful orders.”
Capitol Police identified the man as Watson, adding that he was arrested on charges of “Crowding, Obstructing, and Incommoding” and that it is legal to protest in other spots on the Capitol grounds.
Service members are subject to stricter laws than the average citizen when it comes to protesting. The Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibits officers from “using contemptuous language towards the President, Vice president, the Secretaries of War and of a military department, Congress, and certain other officials,” according to an Air Force memo last year.
An Air Force spokesperson said in a statement Thursday: “Service members must comply with all laws, regulations and policies governing conduct and the wear of the uniform. All Department of the Air Force personnel are expected to uphold the highest standards of discipline and professionalism, both on and off duty.”
All service members, not just members of the Air Force, are prohibited from participating in “political activities” in uniform.
Watson’s criticism of Trump and Vance focused on the administration’s actions in Venezuela and Iran, calling them “an unconstitutional usurpation of Congress’ authority and a violation of the War Powers Clause.”
“These violations resulted in the deaths of 13 service members and injuries of hundreds more,” he said, referring to the number of U.S. military deaths tied to the Iran war. “For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted and removed.”
Watson also called the administration’s immigration policies and tactics unconstitutional.
The Removal Coalition did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Watson could not be reached.
President Donald Trump responded to criticism of a financial disclosure that listed $1.4 billion in crypto earnings largely driven by meme coins.
Berk Kutay Gökmen
02 July 2026•Update: 02 July 2026
US Defense Secretary Hegseth on Thursday faced protesters while hosting the Trump administration’s DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force ceremony in Washington DC.
During the ceremony at Meridian Hill Park, which saw the gathering of National Guardsmen, dozens of demonstrators gathered near the park to protest Hegseth.
Footage shows the demonstrators chanting a short distance away from where Hegseth and roughly 200 members of the National Guard had gathered in the park
In social media posts, one protester was seen holding a Palestinian flag, while another person was holding a sign that reads “arrest Hegseth.” The protesters want a “Free DC,” according to social media posts.
In his address to the National Guard, Hegseth said that “this background noise is perfect,” referring to the protests.
“It’s the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude—of people who are so blinded by ideology they can’t see law and order and common sense in front of them,” he said.
Meridian Hill Park was repaired by the National Park Service and the Interior Department as part of a larger initiative to restore and enhance federal parks and public spaces throughout the nation’s capital in preparation for America’s 250th anniversary, which falls on this Saturday, July 4.
Though such beautification projects are typically popular with the public, the current initiative has been controversial both for its choice of projects and the use of no-bid contracts to hire firms to do the work, sometimes with disappointing results.
The work aligns with President Donald Trump’s DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force, established by a March 2025 executive order that directs federal agencies to coordinate public safety and beautification efforts across Washington.
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