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Wakefield father tells South Kingstown committee district repeatedly failed transport for his autistic daughters
Summary
During public comment, Sean Kavanaugh said repeated bus delays and missed runs deprived his twin preschoolers of required instructional time, prompting a Rhode Island Department of Education hearing and a consent order he says the district only reported after the hearing.
Sean Kavanaugh, a Wakefield resident and father of three, told the South Kingstown School Committee during public comment that district transportation failures have repeatedly denied his twin 5‑year‑old daughters — both diagnosed with autism — their required classroom time and violated state special‑education transport rules.
Kavanaugh said the problems began when his children started preschool in fall 2023. He said bus arrival times were often late or missing, and that GPS data he obtained showed his daughters missed “at least 26 and 3 quarters hours of school,” which he described as “the equivalent of over 4 days.” He added that between February and March 2024 the district “did not transport my children to school even once on time.”
Why it matters: Federal and state special‑education rules and a family’s IEPs typically require districts to provide timely transport for students entitled to it. Kavanaugh said he pursued the matter with the Rhode Island…
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