ADA Concern

Melanie · August 2004

We run Head Start preschool centers. In each classroom there is a Teacher & Assistant. It is the essential duty of the Assistant to get a CDL and drive the school bus to pick up the children. In ONLY one classroom in every center, the parents transport the children themselves. This classroom has been nice to have as we could hire qualified staff with disabilities that were unable to drive and we could place our staff members if they became disabled in that one classroom in each center. However, due to low enrollment in those classrooms b/c of parent difficulty in transporting the children, we have decided to require the Teacher Assistant in those classrooms to drive.
So, since it will now be an essential duty of that classroom Assistants job, does that mean we have to terminate all of our disabled employees that cannot drive?

I don't know how we get around not letting them drive if it is now essential to the job.

Melanie

cthr · August 2004

Why does each class have to have it's own driver if they are all in the same buidling? Couldn't you have a group of Assistants who have driving as part of their job and pay them more money.

Melanie · August 2004

Well, for one we're unionized, and to change job descriptions it would be a hassle with the union.

Secondly, it's the design of the program based on our federal regulations and what has worked best by past practice.

All Head Start facilities nationwide have a Teacher & Asst for each classroom. Too many other details such as funding, etc, to go into, to explain why it's designed the way they are.

rad · August 2004

I think the union would rather be hassled than have you let go a bunch of employees. I worked for HeadStart but we had a bus driver that picked up everyone who needed it.

Melanie · August 2004

We couldn't afford to have bus drivers as well. The government keeps cutting back on the funding, and the only way the program works is to have the TAs drive.

SMace · August 2004

So each TA picks up their own students, right? Do they not cross paths? Depending on the travel patterns you could argue that one bus picking up everyone would actually be cheaper. Do they all have their own bus? If you cut down on the number of buses you have less gas, maintenance, insurance, etc. This scenario sound very inefficient to me. Oh wait it's union.

rad · August 2004

If you can't change the job description and can't hire bus drivers, can the TAs who can drive pick up the chilren for those who can not? Is it that many more children per run if it was split up?

Melanie · August 2004

Actually, that's the idea that we're currently tossing around. The only potential problem with that idea is the new federal regulations that require the bus routes with pre-school children to be one hour or less. The fear is that if we had 2 extra children per route, we'll put those routes over the allowed time of a bus route.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

rad · August 2004

No problem. I remember our transportation coordinator agonizing every August over the length of the route and how to get the logistics to work out. She would go on countless trial runs and I often went with her so she had a second person verifying the time. It wasn't easy, but every year she made it work. Where there's a will there's a way, so they say. And with our beg for everything we had budget, I know thats true. x:-)

ADA Concern

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