Left in the Cold: Why Minnesota’s Special Education Transportation System Is Failing Students
By Andrew Allocco
By: Andrew Allocco, Minnesota high school students & EdVoices Cohort Member
In 2024, the State of Minnesota spent more than $325 million on contracted special education transportation services. Those funds were distributed to districts around the state. These districts often hire private transportation providers, who are supposed to provide safe, cost-effective transportation for students with mental and physical disabilities. Last year, I was one of the many students in Minnesota who relied on these contracted transportation services. These services disregard student safety, fail to hold staff accountable, and continue profiting from taxpayer funds, despite the fact that they transport some of our most vulnerable students. The state needs to change how these funds are disbursed and increase oversight to ensure student safety.
I am a high school freshman, and I have a physical disability. Last year, my medical situation led to my being in a wheelchair for a significant portion of the year. While I was in a wheelchair, I was assigned to a special education van from a non-school district-affiliated company. This specific company advertises on its website that it is “Transporting people where they need to go – safely, affordably, on time and with respect.” At my school, these vans were tasked with driving students with mental and physical disabilities. These groups are among our most vulnerable students and often can’t advocate for or stand up for themselves. The state and our school districts trust these services to provide high-quality care for these students.
On my first day in the van, I approached the experience with high hopes. But that optimism dissolved within minutes. Neither the driver nor the paraprofessional in the van spoke fluent English, making it almost impossible for them to communicate with the nonverbal students in the van. Additionally, there was a complete disregard for the safety of the students. One student was allowed to take his seat belt off and stand up in the van, with no intervention from the driver or the para in the back. When I got home, I was dropped off in my wheelchair by myself in the middle of a busy street in January. The very next day, the van dropped off a student with autism at the wrong house and attempted to drive away before they confirmed he had safely made it inside. Had his neighbor not known who the boy was, he would have been abandoned in freezing weather, not knowing how to get home.
These experiences continued for months, and frequently left me and other students in serious danger. Companies that provide this type of transportation service have minimal oversight. I reported these incidents to special education teachers and building and district administration, but the district told me it had limited visibility into the vendor’s routes and supervision. The school district doesn’t have access to the location data of the van, nor does it have any means of contacting someone who does. Additionally, many of the problems at these companies go unreported. Many students on these vans have disabilities that affect communication, which can make it difficult for them to report or describe what happens during rides. Because of this, van operators and companies can make reckless decisions with almost no pushback. If we continue to allow these companies to act like this, we are putting students’ lives in danger.
Whether it is because they are unaware or simply don’t care, the state continues to pay enormous sums of money to companies who continually disregard the safety of those they are charged with protecting. The current situation needs to change. What I experienced was unsafe and unacceptable. It shouldn’t take an accident or a lost student to fix the problems that plague the private school transportation industry.
So what can be done? There are a few potential solutions. One is to take the money that the state spends on these private companies and give it to districts directly, to fund the purchase of school district special education buses. These buses would have school district-trained and vetted drivers, and could carry more students, making them more cost-effective. These buses would also have security cameras and other data to ensure students are safe. Another solution is to increase oversight of these private corporations.
Currently, there is almost no oversight at the district or state level. Increasing oversight could include measures such as requiring private transportation companies to share location and driving data with districts and the state, or mandating English proficiency so the paraprofessionals and drivers can communicate clearly to all students, especially those who are nonverbal. In fact, many vans in use today already have AI-equipped cameras monitoring their driving. The problem is that too often, districts don’t review that data consistently, or they can’t access it at all. If the school district and the state had access to this data and other information, it would encourage the companies and their drivers to take more safety precautions.
One solution that requires no help from the state is spreading the word. After my experiences last year, I went to my local school board member, and the board unanimously decided not to renew the transportation company’s contract. Many districts don’t realize they are putting students in danger, and getting the word out can help prevent tragedy. Whatever the solution, something needs to change because we can’t keep letting our most vulnerable students be transported by incompetent organizations that put their safety and well-being in jeopardy. Taxpayer dollars shouldn’t fund transportation that can’t guarantee basic student safety.
Andrew Allocco is a high school student in the Twin Cities Metro and a member of the 2025 EdVoices cohort.
The preceding blog was authored by a member of the 2025 EdVoices cohort. Through our EdVoices program, EdAllies seeks to elevate diverse voices and foster a candid dialogue about education. While we provide our blog as a platform for EdVoices and other guest contributors, the views and opinions they express are solely their own.