Some Omaha students will not get school bus service anymore after Omaha Public Schools decision

OMAHA, Nebraska — After Monday, hundreds of children attending Omaha Public Schools will have to reconsider the means by which they travel to and from school.

During the board meeting that OPS held, a vote was taken to approve a new transportation plan. This plan extends the range within which individuals are eligible to ride the bus by a half mile.

“I consider that to be unethical. It has an effect on parents who are financially unable to handle it. “They have to work, and they don’t have that to be able to give transportation,” said Cheryl Weston, an irate mom who spoke at the board meeting on Monday. Weston was one of the parents who spoke.

The modification is being made as a result of the fact that the district has been unable to address a shortage of bus drivers.

Although all of the OPS board members shared the sentiment that they were dismayed to be forced to implement the new plan, they all agreed that it was the best course of action for the district and decided to accept it.

However, there are many who believe the district’s most recent shift may not be in accordance with its overall mission.

“Our primary worry is that this proposal violates both the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State, in that we are required to provide equal educational opportunity for all kids, irrespective of the students’ racial or disability status. Or if they are wealthy or financially disadvantaged,” said Rose Godinez, the Legal Policy Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska.

The American Civil Liberties Union and several parents are upset because there are not enough alternatives available for pupils who are no longer qualified to ride the school bus.

“The statutes give an up-front cost for what the new arrangements would entail. The Omaha Public Schools are able to provide an advance payment for these kinds of arrangements. They also have the option of using a van rather than a bus or participating in ridesharing, according to Godinez.

Some people in attendance at the conference even promised to take it upon themselves to ensure that pupils get to school.

“It is not reasonable for them to hear you tell them that you need to walk by this way, past this dog, or past this shooting,” you can remark. According to Donna Polk, Chief Executive Officer of the Nebraska Urban Indian Health Coalition, “We want to assist you in any way we can by suggesting that perhaps we might offer transportation for them.”

The eligibility ranges will once again be based on those that were utilized by the district before 2015 thanks to the new policy.

The change was upsetting to the parents, and many of them felt that it was a major regression on the part of the school district.

The public education systems are only becoming more segregated as a result of this. Weston remarked that it seemed like they were making steps backwards from where they were seven years ago.

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