Ottawa Catholic School Board trustees reverse cuts to bus attendant program

OCSB trustees decided to reverse course on their decision to eliminate bus attendants for students with special needs. CTV’s Katelyn Wilson reports.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board has reversed a decision to eliminate bus attendees for students with special needs, days after parents raised issue with the sudden change.

Specialized bus attendants ride the school bus with students and help ensure students are safe and cared for. These include students who are non-verbal or who might have complex medical needs. The board said cutting the positions was an operational decision and was not brought forward to the board of trustees.

At a board meeting on Tuesday, trustees voted unanimously to rescind the previous decision to eliminate the bus attendant positions, ensuring that there will be no interruption of care for students when the new school year begins.

The motion was brought forward at the start of Tuesday’s board of trustees meeting and was met with applause when it was unanimously approved. Before delegates scheduled to address trustees on the issue had the opportunity to speak, the board voted to reverse course.

“Trustees heard from families, Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) members, advocacy organizations, staff, and community partners about the impact the proposed change would have on students and families. Their feedback reinforced the important role bus attendants play in creating a safe and supportive transportation experience and providing reassurance to parents and caregivers,” a news release from the OCSB said.

For parents like Amanda Jollymore and Brian McPhail, the decision brings relief. The couple spent the past several weeks advocating for their daughter Mia after learning the support she relies on could be removed.

“We’ve been telling Mia since last night that she did such a good job helping us advocate and that we were her voice and we’re so proud of her and she’s been so strong and brave,” Jollymore said.

“We’re happy that they made the right decision and we’re happy that they heard us,” McPhail said. “It’s unfortunate that we’ve had to fight for something that we feal nobody should have to fight for.”

Parents and bus attendants who spoke to CTV News Ottawa earlier this month said they were surprised to learn their children’s bus attendants would be gone in the fall and called on the board to change its mind.

The reversal follows protests, delegations and advocacy efforts from families, disability advocates and bus attendants who said the changes could impact roughly 100 students.

“Over the past several weeks, trustees have listened carefully to families and heard directly from those most affected by this decision,” said OCSB chair Mark Mullan in a news release. “Parents and caregivers spoke passionately about the difference these supports make in the lives of their children. We listened, we reflected, and we unanimously agreed that continuing bus attendant services is the right decision.”

Jennifer Bloom who has worked as Mia’s bus attendant for the past two years, says attendants do far more than supervise students during the ride to school.

“We’ve got kids that have seizures, whether it’s big seizures or small seizures that we deal with. There can be choking and aspiration issues,” Bloom said. “We’re not medical professional by any means but for the board and trustees to actually take these things into consideration and recognize the importance of what we do is quite rewarding.”

The school board said staff will review staffing and recruitment strategies to strengthen the long-term sustainability of the bus attendant position and promised to share more details with families in the coming days.

“Lesson learned. Water under the bridge, but you know, please to the board make sure that the right lessons are learned from this in the future and due diligence is done and transparency,” McPhail said.

With files from CTV’s Katelyn Wilson.

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