Bus Suspensions

According to the Education’s Department’s discussion accompanying the publication of the 2006 final regulations, if bus transportation is part of the IEP for a student with a disability (indicated as a related service), a bus suspension is a day of suspension, unless the district provides another kind of transportation:

Whether a bus suspension would count as a day of suspension wou1d depend on whether the bus transportation is a part of the child’s IEP. If the bus transportation were a part of the child’s IEP, a bus suspension would be treated as a suspension under Sec. 300.530 unless the public agency provides the bus service in some other way, because that transportation is necessary for the child to obtain access to the location where services will be delivered. If the bus transportation is not a part of the child’s IEP, a bus suspension is not a suspension under Sec. 300.530. In those cases, the child and the child’s parent have the same obligations to get the child to and from school as a non-disabled child who has been suspended from the bus. However, public agencies should consider whether the behavior on the bus is similar to behavior in a classroom that is addressed in an IEP and whether the child’s behavior on the bus should be addressed in the IEP or a behavioral intervention plan for the child.

71 Fed. Reg. 46,715 (2006).