Park Ridge resident says district policy change limits therapy access for preschoolers

Katie O’Donnell, a Park Ridge resident, used the public comment period to urge the board to revisit a recent change in the district’s transportation policy that she said prevents the district from transporting students to outside childcare centers that also provide therapy.

O’Donnell told the board that the policy was amended last month to add language allowing transportation from school to childcare for children whose individualized education program (IEP) qualifies them for special transportation, but the district removed prior practice of transporting to childcare centers that provide therapy. She said that many children with significant developmental delays, including those with autism spectrum disorder, require intensive therapy such as Applied Behavior Analysis that the district does not provide.

“These children already qualify for bus transportation, so transporting to therapy adds no cost and can in fact save cost in both the short and long term,” O’Donnell said, arguing transporting multiple children to the same provider could be efficient. She further said the change “discriminates against children with disabilities that have a medical need for private therapy,” and told the board she believed it violated both the Americans with Disabilities Act and the district’s own policy, which she quoted as stating “the district shall not discriminate among types of daycare.”

O’Donnell also said she had confirmed other nearby districts provide transportation to therapy providers, and listed several (District 62 Des Plaines; District 202 Plainfield; District 102 LaGrange; District 28 Northbrook; District 158 Huntley-Woodstock; CPS; District 146 Tinley Park; District 300 Algonquin; District 15 Palatine), saying the service is not unique. The board did not take action during public comment; the district representative present did not make new policy statements during the meeting.