On Tuesday, October 28, 2025, The District of Columbia City Council’s Committee of the Whole convened a public oversight hearing to examine the performance of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s Division of Student Transportation (OSSE DOT) in providing safe, reliable, and efficient transportation for eligible students with disabilities to and from school as “related services” required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)  (34 C.F.R. § 300.34).  The hearing focused on key issues with OSSE DOT, with parents and advocates raising concerns ranging from delays, late drop-offs, communication problems, and safety concerns. 

Maria Blaeuer, Esq., Director of Programs and Outreach at Advocates for Justice and Education (AJE), testified at the hearing, sharing concerns and experiences from the families AJE serves, many of whom continue to face challenges with unreliable transportation, communication breakdowns, and the impact these issues have on students’ access to education and support services. While noting some minor improvements regarding the implementation of the new parent portal that launched this past summer, she also noted the significant issues, such as on-time bus arrivals, and echoed the communication issues highlighted by other testimonies.

Maria also noted that despite some improvements with the Parent Portal, concerns were raised about communication, customer service, and the recent implementation of a 30-day limit on parent reimbursements without prior notice. She recommended that OSSE DOT continue improving communication, customer service, and transparency with families by clearly notifying them of policy and route changes, expanding real-time communication tools like the texting pilot, and developing the long-promised parent tracking app. She urged the agency to modernize its technology for route monitoring, ensure respectful treatment of families by all staff, and maintain strong oversight of private contractors to guarantee quality and reliability. 

At the hearing, important issues such as OSSE DOT’s performance in providing safe and reliable transportation for approximately 4,000 eligible students with disabilities with Individual Education Programs (IEP) (34 C.F.R. § 300.320). A series of questions with several panels of testifiers led by City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson unveiled that while some improvements have been made and OSSE DOT reports a current on-time compliance rate of 92%, there was an increase in complaints by 50% in September 2025 compared to the previous year. Raphael Park, Deputy Superintendent of Operations at OSSE, testified at the hearing on behalf of the agency and answered questions from Chairman Mendelson and other members of the DC City Council regarding OSSE DOT’s performance, highlighted by parents and other advocates. Park acknowledged ongoing staff shortages and callouts, which continue to disrupt services and routing consistency. Park also highlighted that there is a  25% absentee rate among OSSE DOT drivers and discussed plans to partner with local education agencies (LEA) to handle some routes more efficiently, acknowledging that these staffing issues result in route instability, unpredictability, and inconsistent service.

The hearing convened with a panel of invited witnesses who pointed to examples from other states and school districts that have made measurable progress in improving transportation for students with disabilities through innovation and collaboration. For example, Teena Mitchell from Greenville County, South Carolina, shared how her district strengthened coordination between transportation and special education departments by establishing clear communication protocols and ensuring that transportation staff regularly participate in IEP meetings. This approach has resulted in more consistent service and fewer missed routes. Other invited witnesses also highlighted the use of real-time GPS tracking systems and automated parent notification tools, which have significantly reduced response times for late or missed buses. Lesley Bradby, Route Planner for Arlington County, VA Public Schools, highlighted that they have invested in driver retention programs and flexible routing software, leading to better reliability during high-demand periods.

Public witnesses, including parents and advocates, repeatedly highlighted systemic gaps within OSSE DOT jeopardizing student safety and well-being, educational access, and family stability. Parents and advocates testified about ongoing issues with reliability, communication, and safety, such as bus delays, communication problems, unreliable pickup times with some routes experiencing up to 209 daily late arrivals, inaccurate tracking, and inadequate responses to incidents. They emphasized the need for a parent tracking app, better staff training, and improved coordination between schools and transportation services. OSSE DOT was praised for recent progress made through the implementation of the parent portal, yet faced criticism for delays in implementing solutions and addressing systemic problems. The discussion underscored the urgent need for more effective oversight and accountability to ensure students with disabilities receive timely and safe transportation to school.

Although OSSE DOT has a self-reported compliance rate of 92%, testimonies revealed that this metric only counts a bus as “late” after arriving more than 30 minutes past the scheduled drop time, masking true delays. Danielle Robinette, Senior Policy Attorney at the Children’s Law Center, presented data showing that many students experience late arrivals despite OSSE’s claims of high on-time performance. Several parents testified about the real impact of transportation failure, not just missed school days, but also disruptions to employment, family stability, and student well-being.

Despite contracts dating back to 2016 to provide real-time GPS and student-tracking tools, the district still lacks a functional parent-facing tracking system. Families testified that the repeated piloting of tracking systems, now approaching a fourth pilot phase, has yielded no lasting solution, and implementation has been repeatedly delayed into 2026.

Towards the end, Chairman Mendelson mentioned a potential follow-up roundtable discussion, inviting OSSE back to provide the requested information during the October 28th hearing. The date for the upcoming hearing has not yet been set; however, Chairman Mendelson noted it would be sometime in November.

The OSSE DOT performance oversight hearing made it clear that the District has made commitments to improve, but progress is too slow, the stakes are too high, and thousands of children remain underserved. Transportation is more than logistics; it is access to education. For students with disabilities, unreliable transportation is a barrier that compounds inequity, disrupts learning, and places families in crisis. OSSE DOT must accelerate implementation of real-time tracking, increase transparency, improve operational consistency, and meaningfully partner with families to ensure students receive the services to which they are legally entitled to. Reliable school transportation is not a luxury; it is a civil right.

Update on November 17, 2025: Chairman Mendelson has set the date for the follow-up hearing on OSSE DOT, which is scheduled for December 3rd at 9:30 am at the DC City Council. To learn more about this hearing and/or to sign up to testify, click here. If you are interested in testifying at this upcoming hearing, support with testimony preparation, email us at information@aje-dc.org with the subject line: “Testimony Prep Assistance Request”