Tuesday, March 31, 2026, 10 a.m. (Boston time), Boston City Hall, 1 City Hall Square, Boston, MA 02201
Hearing on Docket #0374
Committee: Education Committee
The Education Committee held an emergency hearing on docket 0374 regarding chronic school bus delays and special education transportation failures in Boston Public Schools. Parents testified about canceled and hours-late buses, missed IEP-mandated services, safety incidents, and out-of-pocket costs, and several written testimonies were read into the record. BPS Transportation Executive Director Dan Rosengard reported historically high on-time performance (averaging 93% mornings and 88% afternoons in March) but acknowledged a sharp increase in uncovered trips since December (0.9% of roughly 361,000 scheduled trips this year versus a 0.2% prior average), and said the district informed Transdev at the end of February that it will assess $500 liquidated damages per uncovered or severely delayed trip beginning with March. Councilors pressed on driver absenteeism, electric bus range, the $3.3 million insurance premium, the roughly $198 million transportation budget amid declining enrollment, and per-route failure data. Chair Mejia kept the docket in committee and pledged to convene a second hearing before the end of the school year; no vote was taken.
3:56 does not say
3:59 that but the exact time is make
4:01 sure I know what time zone I'm
4:01 intended for.
4:03 This hearing is being recorded.
4:06 It is also being live streamed
4:09 at boston.Gov/city council dash
4:12 tv and broadcast on channel
4:16 eight rcn channel 82 files
4:19 channel 964 written comments
4:20 MAY be sent to the committee
4:26 email at kcc dot
4:27 education@boston.Gov and it
4:28 will be made a part of the
4:31 record and available to all
4:31 councilors.
4:34 Public testimony will be taken
4:35 throughout this hearing.
4:37 Um and then individuals will be
4:38 called in the order in which
4:40 they have signed up and will
4:41 have two minutes to testify.
4:43 If you are interested in
4:45 testifying in person, please
4:48 add your name to the sign up
4:49 sheet near the entrance of the
4:50 chamber.
4:51 If you're looking to testify
4:53 virtually, please email central
4:57 staff liaison megan at megan
5:00 dixie r c excuse me c o r u g e
5:04 d o@boston.Gov for the link and
5:06 your name will be added to the
5:06 list.
5:10 Today's hearing is on docket
5:13 037 for emergency hearing
5:15 regarding the chronic um school
5:16 bus delays and special
5:18 education transportation
5:18 failures.
5:21 This matter was sponsored by
5:23 councilor erin murphy,
5:25 councilor flynn and
5:26 councilor fitzgerald and was
5:29 referred to this committee on
5:31 FEBRUARY the 11th, 2026.
5:34 And in true fashion I got my
5:37 binder thanks to me.
5:41 Um and um so today I am joined
5:44 by my empty chamber here y'all
5:49 uh um councilor murphy and
5:51 councilor uh present
5:54 councilor um, breadon um, do I
5:55 have any letters of absence?
5:56 None.
5:57 Okay.
6:01 Um, so at the discretion of the
6:05 chair, um, I will have opening,
6:09 uh, statements and I will, um,
6:11 kick it over to the lead
6:13 sponsor for theirs.
6:15 Chair.
6:15 Thank you.
6:18 Um, important conversation
6:19 we're going to have today.
6:22 Thank you for starting with the
6:22 voices.
6:25 Of the parents and teachers who
6:26 live through this every day.
6:29 So I filed back in FEBRUARY an
6:30 emergency hearing order
6:32 regarding the chronic school
6:33 bus delays and special
6:35 education transportation
6:35 failures.
6:38 Boston public schools provides
6:39 transportation to over 20,000
6:41 students across the city each
6:43 day, and concerns regarding
6:44 chronic and excessive bus
6:45 delays have been.
6:47 district.
6:47 Ongoing and not new to the
6:49 Families, educators and
6:51 community members continue to
6:53 report transportation failures
6:54 after affecting schools across
6:56 multiple neighborhoods, and the
6:58 volume and repetition of these
6:59 communications have
6:59 significantly increased,
7:02 prompting the filing of this
7:04 emergency hearing order at one
7:06 boston high school busses have
7:08 reportedly arrived hours after
7:10 dismissal, forcing students to
7:12 remain at school into the
7:14 evening and on a recurring
7:16 basis in another neighborhood.
7:18 a regularly assigned elementary
7:20 school bus route has reportedly
7:21 arrived more than one hour late
7:23 on multiple days per week,
7:25 including a recent delay
7:26 of approximately one hour and
7:27 18 minutes at pickup.
7:30 Recent reports also indicate at
7:31 another high school door to
7:33 door transportation for special
7:35 education students, including a
7:36 student who uses a wheelchair
7:38 had not arrived for more than
7:40 two hours after dismissal,
7:41 leaving students at school
7:45 until after 6 P.M. For at 3:35
7:47 P.M. Release I'm reading these
7:47 individual ones.
7:49 We also have written testimony
7:50 that we'll be sharing
7:51 throughout this meeting, but
7:54 these were just three families
7:56 who had reached out with these
7:57 concerns and had prompted
7:59 myself and just for the record,
8:01 I know councilor fitzgerald and
8:02 flynn were original co-sponsors
8:03 but all.
8:05 Members of this body all
8:06 councilors signed on to this
8:07 hearing ordered knowing it's
8:08 important to have this
8:08 conversation.
8:09 So I'm looking.
8:12 Forward to hearing from
8:15 concerned families and also the
8:15 administration.
8:16 So thank you chair for holding
8:17 this hearing.
8:17 Thank you.
8:20 Um councilor murphy I will go
8:22 next to council PRESIDENT
8:22 Breadon.
8:24 Thank you MADAM.
8:26 MADAM Chair and thank you to
8:27 councilor murphy
8:28 councilor fluid and
8:29 councilor fitzgerald for
8:32 sponsoring this uh, emergency
8:34 hearing on uh, school
8:34 transportation.
8:38 Um, I think it's it's a
8:39 happening all across the city
8:40 but I am particularly concerned
8:42 about what's happening at the
8:43 at the edison this year.
8:46 Um, last year they had about
8:47 five instances of um, busses
8:50 not turning up uh, um,
8:51 throughout the whole school
8:53 year and it's multiple times a
8:56 week at this point uh and to
8:58 also share concern murphy's
9:01 comments uh, school busses are
9:02 not turning up to take students
9:03 home in the evening and
9:05 teachers have to stay late and
9:07 to late to 630 7:00 in the
9:09 evening uh, until parents can
9:10 uh, come and pick their
9:11 students up.
9:14 And I also hear that parents
9:16 are concerned because their
9:17 employers just said why?
9:18 Why are you having to leave
9:20 kids up?
9:20 your job to go and pick your
9:22 This is not acceptable.
9:24 So folks and their employment
9:26 is actually under threat
9:26 because they're in danger
9:28 of losing their job because
9:29 that leaves are so frequently
9:31 have to leave their job to go
9:33 pick their children up at
9:33 school.
9:36 So um, this is a serious
9:37 situation and also given the
9:40 fact that we spend $200 million
9:42 on transportation in our school
9:44 budget, uh, it's totally
9:45 unacceptable.
9:46 We need to do better.
9:46 Thank you, council PRESIDENT
9:51 Um, brighton and
9:52 councilor murphy.
9:54 And just for the record, this
9:56 hearing is to examine the
9:57 ongoing school transportation
9:59 performance across all boston
9:59 public schools.
10:02 The district transports roughly
10:04 20,000 students each day,
10:05 making it one of the largest
10:08 and most complex school
10:09 transportation systems in the
10:10 country.
10:13 At the same time, concerns
10:14 regarding delays MISS Routes
10:17 and service reliability are not
10:19 new and have persisted across
10:21 multiple years and
10:21 administrations.
10:23 And so before I even walked
10:25 into this chamber even as a
10:28 parent organizer um I was
10:30 always getting calls from
10:32 parents hysterical about the
10:34 bus situation.
10:35 So this is nothing new.
10:38 Uh, but recent and most
10:40 recently we were also in threat
10:42 of receivership and
10:43 transportation was one of the
10:45 chronic, uh, issues that they
10:48 asked us to, uh, step up, um,
10:50 and and do something about.
10:51 So recent reporting and data
10:53 show that while there have been
10:54 periods of improvement and
10:56 on-time performance, the system
10:57 has not consistently met its
10:59 own reliability targets and
11:01 families continue to report
11:02 significant delays including
11:04 late arrivals and missed
11:04 pickups.
11:06 This hearing is intended to
11:09 establish a clear factual
11:10 understanding of current
11:11 conditions, particularly as
11:13 they relate to special
11:14 education and door to door
11:16 transportation identified the
11:18 operational challenges
11:19 contributing to these outcomes
11:21 and review how existing
11:23 resources are being deployed to
11:24 meet the needs of students and
11:24 families.
11:26 We look forward to hearing
11:27 directly from the
11:28 administration and stakeholders
11:30 to better understand where the
11:32 system stands today and what
11:34 steps are being taken so that
11:36 we can have more consistent and
11:37 reliable service.
11:40 And I'll just note uh, that for
11:42 me, as I mentioned in my
11:45 opening remarks, I think that
11:48 these opportunities um, allow
11:49 for.
11:50 Us to.
11:51 Be in community with each other
11:53 and more of a brainstorming.
11:54 Okay.
11:55 So we can get this right.
11:56 I'm not a judge.
11:58 You're not here on the stand
11:59 especially I'm talking this to
12:00 the administration.
12:03 So come in here understanding
12:05 that accountability and the
12:07 frustration that families have
12:08 is coming from a place of we
12:09 want to get this right.
12:11 And so if we can walk out
12:13 of here with some very specific
12:16 next steps and to do's to so
12:17 that we can address it, then
12:18 we're we're doing our job.
12:20 But if we're just bringing you
12:22 in here just to complain and
12:23 not do something about it, then
12:24 we have failed our families.
12:29 So I'm going to ask us here
12:31 collectively to come in with a
12:32 space of like how are we going
12:33 to get this right?
12:34 So while you are listening to
12:37 the public testimony thinking
12:39 about what we can do to fix it,
12:41 does that sound like a good
12:43 plan y'all I know y'all usually
12:44 stay here but I'm glad that
12:45 you're there as long as you're
12:46 here.
12:47 I'm happy to see you.
12:48 so thank you to the
12:49 administration for being here.
12:51 Okay I want to acknowledge that
12:54 we also have been joined by
12:55 councilor weber.
12:56 Um, you are more than welcome
12:58 to have, uh, opening remarks.
13:00 Shall you choose to use that?
13:02 Uh, no.
13:04 I apologize for being late.
13:06 Uh, but you know, opening
13:07 remarks.
13:10 I can see what is happening
13:12 because there's no panel.
13:14 And I'll sit it down.
13:16 Okay, so they.
13:17 want us.
13:17 Okay.
13:19 There's a panel.
13:19 Sounds good.
13:22 and there they're in the
13:24 bleachers in the nosebleed
13:25 section.
13:26 Can you all.
13:27 make.
13:28 Your way here so it doesn't
13:28 look awkward?
13:30 Thank you.
13:33 Does that feel better okay.
13:33 Before.
13:37 thank you.
13:41 and then we didn't want to
13:42 take away from the place.
13:45 But it's for you to hear over
13:46 directly okay.
13:47 we have started.
13:48 Thank you.
13:50 We're good and I'm going to
13:51 encourage us.
13:52 We have one mic.
13:58 Um, so we'll utilize our time
14:00 wisely okay okay.
14:02 All right.
14:03 Let's begin with public
14:04 testimony I believe we have
14:09 folks on on zoom and are you
14:11 doing in person?
14:12 Are you signed up.
14:15 Since you're here to listen I.
14:22 Okay, so we just have five um,
14:24 do you have the list of.
14:27 All the already here?
14:30 Okay, so can we.
14:36 We can start letting people in.
14:38 We have lori murphy katie.
14:38 Right.
14:41 Eugenia rojas, cheryl buchman,
14:44 mildred lewis, danielle
14:47 brinkman, alma wilde also pope.
14:51 And the order that you were
14:52 called upon you have two
14:55 minutes and when you hear this
14:56 that means two minutes are up.
14:57 Okay?
14:58 Y'all don't act like you can't
14:58 hear me.
15:02 All right?
15:05 Two is.
15:08 Oh, you have to accept the
15:09 invite to be a panelist.
15:10 There we go.
15:14 minutes.
15:14 Laurie murphy, you have two
15:16 Thank you so much for your time
15:16 today.
15:18 My name is laurie murphy, a
15:19 proud resident of roslindale
15:21 and mom to two students in
15:23 second and fifth grade at the
15:24 hernandez in roxbury.
15:27 Um, making us a writing family
15:29 since 2018 this past year has
15:30 been the worst by far in
15:31 relation to busses being late
15:32 or canceled.
15:34 From the data I've seen our bus
15:36 route alone is over 20 days 21
15:38 counting today actually
15:39 of either cancellations or
15:41 significant delays this school
15:42 year that is a month of school.
15:44 In the past five weeks alone
15:46 we've had nine cancellation or
15:47 cancellations or delays more
15:48 than 40 minutes.
15:51 Imagine at 7 A.M. And you are
15:52 getting your children ready for
15:53 school only to get an alert
15:54 that there is no bus and having
15:55 to figure out which parent can
15:57 take the burden of driving
15:58 through morning traffic to get
15:59 them to school again.
16:01 This happened today.
16:02 The alternative when we can't
16:04 drive them in we wait it out
16:05 and kids MISS The morning bell.
16:07 My kid specifically asked that
16:09 I remind you that when their
16:10 bus is very late they MISS Out
16:12 on breakfast socializing with
16:15 their friends and um their very
16:16 important educational computer
16:16 time.
16:18 Starting the day with routine
16:20 matters so much to kids and a
16:21 teacher told me that one of the
16:22 students on a different bus
16:24 route arrives 30 minutes late
16:25 every single day.
16:26 They had a field trip last week
16:28 that they had to hold for the
16:30 entire grade to wait for him to
16:31 arrive or imagine getting a
16:33 call from school at 3:10 P.M.
16:34 That you have to come get your
16:35 kids right now because the bus
16:36 was canceled.
16:37 Work is missed.
16:38 The afternoon becomes super
16:38 stressful.
16:40 Kids get home late and hungry
16:41 and worn out.
16:42 My fifth grader wants you to
16:44 know that he's had to MISS
16:45 Baseball practice because
16:47 of bus lateness and the impact
16:48 on staffing to stay late cannot
16:49 go unnoticed.
16:51 I'm lucky that my bus route is
16:52 a community of families that
16:53 rally at the last minute to
16:55 figure out carpools, but my
16:56 question is why do we have to
16:57 do this?
16:59 There's a bus system in place
17:01 but what really concerns me is
17:02 the children whose parents
17:03 cannot be here today, the kids
17:05 who are slipping through the
17:07 cracks and just missing school
17:08 because the bus was canceled
17:09 and there's no other way for
17:10 them to get to school.
17:12 And finally what is happening
17:13 with our bus fleet the sheer
17:14 number of times we've had
17:15 mechanical issues is.
17:16 Wild and completely
17:17 unacceptable.
17:19 I know is a complicated school
17:20 system to provide bus services
17:22 for, but I also believe that we
17:24 can do better right now
17:24 transportation is failing us
17:26 and I welcome your perspectives
17:27 at this hearing today.
17:28 Thank you for your time.
17:29 Great job lori.
17:30 Thank you.
17:33 everybody needs some model
17:35 lori's behavior up next.
17:41 Is katie.
17:53 Hi katie.
17:54 Hi.
17:56 Um my name is kate wright.
17:57 I am a.
18:00 Resident of hyde park and my
18:02 son has an iep that requires
18:04 door to door transportation as
18:05 well as a bus monitor.
18:08 Um because he's vulnerable to
18:08 bullying.
18:12 Um, I have documented records
18:14 dating back to 2022 until early
18:16 last year when I pulled him off
18:21 of, uh, the bus because he
18:22 could he was no longer safe.
18:24 Um, he hadn't been safe the
18:26 entire time and we went back
18:28 and forth on driving him to and
18:28 from school.
18:31 But um, this is an an ongoing
18:33 issue where his iep is not
18:40 being met and um uh he is I am
18:42 physically disabled and I've
18:43 been driving him to and from