WASHINGTON – On January 16, 2026, a federal judge approved the formation of a class action of all DC students with disabilities (ages 3–22) who, since March 7, 2022, have needed transportation to school and faced unsafe, unreliable, or inappropriate service from the District. In response to the US District Court for the District of Columbia’s decision, Kaitlin Banner, Deputy Legal Director at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and co-counsel for the families, issued the following statement:
“The court gave the green light for a class action lawsuit, letting thousands of DC families unite against the District to seek changes to the school transportation system on which students with disabilities depend.
“The Arc, an organization dedicated to promoting the rights of people with disabilities, and parents of five students are at the forefront, arguing the District’s unreliable bus service blocks kids from the education and therapies they need.
“Permitting the case to proceed as a class action lawsuit is an important way to show a pattern and practice that requires a systemic remedy. DC buses often arrive late, never show up, or leave families in the dark, causing missed school, lost therapies, and children being separated from their classmates. The numbers presented to the court paint a dire picture:
- Roughly 4,000 students with disabilities use OSSE transportation on about 550 daily bus routes (as of January 2024).
- Plaintiffs reported over 1,000 delays and cancellations and about 3,200 bus disruptions in the first five months of the 2023–2024 school year.
- In October 2024, 303 students were assigned to routes arriving after instruction began at least once per week on average; 161 students were assigned to routes arriving late at least twice per week.
“These failures break the law, violating the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and the DC Human Rights Act.
“The message from families is clear: DC’s transportation system for students with disabilities is broken and needs dramatic change now.”
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Read the Court’s decision granting class certification here.
For more information about the case, and to share you story, visit https://childrenslawcenter.org/our-impact/education/the-district-fails-to-provide-transportation-for-students-with-disabilities/