‘Immigrant students are New York City,’ as city school year grapples with looming bus strike
Advocates for immigrant rights held a conference to discuss some of the obstacles parents need to be aware of as nearly 19,000 migrant children attend New York City public schools this fall.
The new school year kicked off last week on Thursday, September 7. There are many issues immigrant and asylum seeker families need to navigate, including getting accurate information on enrollment, language access, getting vaccinated, childcare, and most pressingly, the potential bus strike.
New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) Director of Economic Justice and Family Empowerment Liza Schwartzwald said that even before the asylum seeker crisis began last year, at least “1-in-2 students was a child of an immigrant family.” She said all groups of English Language Learner (ELL) students and immigrant students, both old and newly arrived, deserve access to quality education.
“These students are the future of the New York City educational system and it is critical that we support them,” said Schwartzwald.
She added that the city is prepared to issue emergency MetroCards, pre-paid rideshares, and transportation reimbursement where necessary in the event of a bus strike. She said families will receive four trips on trains and city buses to get from and to school, and they will receive notification if their route is affected.
The last New York City public school bus strike was in 2013, when bus drivers held out for a month on the picket lines in cold weather until union officials called off the strike.
Just before the school year began this year, several families of school bus riders rallied outside the Department of Education (DOE) headquarters on Tuesday, September 5. They were upset about overdue labor contracts for bus drivers, prompting worries of another potential strike. The group reportedly said that school bus drivers need safe service, adequate training, proper wheelchair harnesses, and better pay to avoid turnover.
“Passively sitting out these negotiations when you have the power to step in, means actively enabling the destruction of the school bus service that thousands of our kids depend on to get their education,” said Parents to Improve School Transportation (PIST NYC) Co-Founder Sara Catalinotto in a statement.
The rallying group also had the support of Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. “Today we stood with @pistnyc and families to demand a fair contract for bus drivers, and for the rights of students—including those with disabilities and in temporary housing—to be protected,” Williams posted on social media. “Whenever profit is the top priority, people suffer, and that’s what will happen here.”
Despite the rally, drivers promised to bus students in the first week of school while the union continued negotiations with the city. NYIC said up to half of current bus routes may be affected by a potential bus strike.
For updates, contact the Office of Pupil Transportation Call Center at 718-392-8855, or email NYC’s Department of Education at transportation@schools.nyc.gov.
Groups like Advocates for Children and LSA Family Health Service, also disseminated information about how to enroll kids into 3K and Pre-K, as well as elementary, middle, or high school. They emphasized that translation and interpretation services are and should be available at a family’s request.
Until Sept. 22, certain Family Welcome Centers will temporarily relocate to nearby schools and updated locations can be found in digital flyers available in multiple languages. Normal hours and locations will resume on Sept. 26. For the latest updates on hours and locations, please visit schools.nyc.gov/FWC. Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1
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