Parents, advocates tell Riverhead board students with disabilities may be unsafe on buses; board offered no immediate remedy

At the June 24 Riverhead Central School District Board of Education meeting, two public speakers raised safety concerns about securement and restraint of students with disabilities on district transportation and asked the board to investigate.

Eva Roberts, who identified herself as a Riverhead resident, told the board she had repeatedly raised concerns about “correct or incorrect securement” of students on buses and referenced a recent incident in another state in which a 6-year-old girl died on a school bus. Roberts said she has identified multiple areas of concern, including students in wheelchairs without shoulder straps properly attached, pre-K students using lap belts instead of required car seats, and cases where equipment listed on a student's IEP was not present or used on the bus. Roberts said she personally filled in on a bus and observed a vest “that was supposed to be attached. It was not attached correctly.”

A second speaker, who said she lives in Lindenhurst and works with students with disabilities, urged the board to consider forming a committee or otherwise examining the system of training and equipment checks because “in any system, things can break down” and multiple staff need training. A third commenter echoed the call for action and asked the board to ensure “everybody can feel happy and comfortable and extra sure that all the children are safely secured.”

Roberts told the board she has previously reported concerns to lower levels of the district and said she had not received satisfactory responses, and that she intends to compile written documentation over the summer. She said board members did not contact her after earlier submissions.

Why it matters: the public comments raised specific safety-related allegations tied to students with disabilities, including omissions in required equipment and incorrect securement observed on district vehicles. The concerns, if verified, would affect student safety during transportation and could require staff retraining, equipment audits and updates to procedures. The board did not announce a formal investigation or commit to an immediate timeline during the meeting.

The transcript records the public comments and the board chair thanked the speakers; no formal action or motion to investigate was recorded in the available transcript.