‘They have to be served’: What we know about state investigation into Jasper Co. schools
Parents with students in the Jasper County School District say they are “elated” after hearing that S.C. Department of Education officials were in the school district Wednesday to investigate ongoing transportation issues.
“I was happy. ... if money was allotted and parents have been denied access to that money for students in special ed, then I definitely think it needs to be looked into just because people have suffered,” said Shakima Dupont, a mother to two students in the district.
Ryan Brown, a spokesman for the education department, said state officials were conducting a “ridership count” and investigating transportation practices in the district following multiple complaints from families that the district has failed to provide bus transportation on a steady basis.
The department was also looking into services students with disabilities “may not have been receiving” under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law that makes free and appropriate public education with related special education services available to students with disabilities.
“They (students with disabilities) have to be served. ... When they are not served, all sorts of issues arise, and there can be all sorts of actions taken,” Brown said in a phone interview Thursday.
The department regularly receives complaints from all over the state, he said, and not all have merit. The the complaint from Jasper County parents warranted a full investigation, he said.
“In this particular instance, enough information was provided by the people that were calling to warrant us actually physically going to the district ... and gather information,” Brown said. “It’s not some random act; not that we don’t take all complaints seriously, but there was enough merit to actually go and look into it.”
Brown said student privacy laws prevented him from talking about specifics of the investigation. Any service under IDEA is what “we’re going to be looking into and making sure that they’ve received,” he said.
Results may take weeks or months, Brown said.
Transportation, especially in rural areas, is a “tough job” and it is difficult to recruit drivers despite efforts from state officials to try and raise pay, Brown said. However, “the state has an obligation, the district has an obligation to provide transportation for students to go to school.”
Three bus drivers added
The transportation issues have been going on since at least the beginning of the 2021-22 school year after bus drivers asked for a raise and were given the option of picking up additional responsibilities in the district instead, according to previous reporting by the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
In a February meeting with the community, Superintendent Rechel Anderson announced that the district had seven drivers for its 39 buses, including one special education driver. In the 2020-21 school year, the district had 14 drivers, she said.
Carolyn Bolden, Jasper County School Board chairwoman, told a reporter Thursday the district now has 10 drivers and that more are on the way.
In a Tuesday night meeting of the Jasper County United Association, a committee of parents and community members, angry parents said they have taken it upon themselves to get to the root of the transportation issues, but that isn’t the end of their list of grievances. Teacher shortages and communication issues are also among their complaints.
Dupont said her 14-year-old son, who is a student enrolled in Jasper County’s special education program, hasn’t had a teacher in the classroom since before Christmas break. Typically, she said, he has a paraprofessional in the room or the students are allowed to go to gym class.
“It’s frustrating because he has an older brother with intellectual disabilities,” Dupont said. “He (the older brother) is experiencing severe cognitive decline ... and dealing with a 19-year-old with that issue, and then being told the 14-year-old isn’t getting the education he needs, it’s disheartening.”
Dupont said she wants her son to be a “self-sufficient” adult and if he “doesn’t learn what he needs to learn, my hope ... is dwindling.”
Travis Washington, a spokesperson for the district, could not immediately be reached for comment.
This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 11:17 AM.
