Source: Radio New Zealand
Patoka farmer and veterinarian Sally Newall’s nine-year-old son Ted had epilepsy and other medical needs. RNZ/Penny Smith
A rural Hawke’s Bay mum is accusing the Ministry of Education of discrimination for not providing transport for her son, who has epilepsy, to get directly to and from school.
Patoka farmer and veterinarian Sally Newall’s nine-year-old son Ted has a variety of medical needs and a school bus used to stop directly outside their home.
The service was removed at the start of this year, after student numbers dropped below the required threshold.
As a result, Newall said the nearest bus stop was about three kilometres away, along a high-speed rural road with blind bends and frequent heavy vehicles.
Because of his conditions, she said it was unsafe for Ted to travel that distance independently.
”I applied for Specialised School Transport Assistance (SESTA), hoping that the ministry would recognise that he had extra needs, and send the bus to his driveway and get him to school,” Newall said. “Instead, they’ve given us an allowance per school day to contribute to the fuel costs of getting him to school, which isn’t really the issue.
“If we lived in town, he would be provided with a method of transport to get him safely to and from school but because of where we live, rurally, I feel like we are discriminated against by the ministry. He’s not provided with that same service, even though the school bus could very easily travel three kilometres to pick him up.”
Newall said this response failed to provide equitable access to education.
“All I’ve been asking for is for the ministry to fund the school bus to come that extra three kilometres to pick him up, as it always has done prior to this year.”
Tranzit operates the school bus that Ted takes to school and is also a SESTA provider for the ministry, including for Napier.
However, there was no SESTA vehicle service for the Patoka area, where the Newalls lived, and no operator was contracted to provide SESTA transport in Patoka, including Tranzit.
Ministry of Education school transport group manager James Meffan said the availability of a SESTA vehicle service was determined by the number of eligible students in a particular area.
“The fact that a transport provider operates nearby will not necessarily mean that SESTA services can be offered,” he said.
Meffan said that were not enough eligible students in the Patoka area to support the service.
“SESTA transport and school bus services operate as separate systems. The presence of a school bus has no influence on whether a SESTA vehicle service is available.”
Where a SESTA vehicle service wasn’t available, Meffan said families may be eligible for an allowance, which helped with the cost of getting their child to and from school.
The introduction of a SESTA vehicle service in the future would depend on an increase in eligible student numbers and whether a provider was able to resource the service.
As part of a wider review of Napier school bus services last year, Meffan said the three bus services for Patoka School were reviewed.
The Patoka School bus routes were changed following shifts in the number and locations of eligible students.
Meffan said bus operators may choose to make private arrangements with families to extend a route beyond the ministry-funded service.
“These arrangements sit outside the ministry’s role and may involve a cost,” he said.
Patoka School confirmed it was working with Tranzit on behalf of affected families, regarding a possible private extension of the route.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand