cameras to its service and has deployed them in more than 50 school districts across the country. “Camera usage is an option for all districts. If a district
wants a camera, we will provide it,” Bowling said. “Cam- era data also delivers AI-powered insights and can be requested by a school district as needed.” All four providers agreed that private transportation,
with its flexibility, efficiency and personalized care, is better equipped than yellow school buses to serve McKinney-Vento students and those with behavioral challenges and profound medical issues. Referring to displaced students who are homeless,
Bowling said, “They still have to get back to [their school district of origin] and to send a bus across multiple school districts is very inefficient. It’s not a criticism of school districts. That’s just a geographic challenge. Operationally, it makes sense for school districts to work with us, and that’s why so many school districts do.” All the providers said they have seen increases in the
number of students with special needs or behavioral issues and McKinney-Vento passengers, with Bowling
observing that those cohorts are growing faster than the general student population. “There shouldn’t be any child that doesn’t have the op-
tion to go to school. I think parents are more aware that they have rights and if their student isn’t able to go on the bus, that there is an option for them to go to school,” added Pawar-LaRosa. King and Bowling estimated that half of the students
that their companies transport are covered by McKin- ney-Vento. And both noted the importance of the school environment for those children. “In some cases, school is the only place where the stu-
dents feel safe and can get a balanced meal,” King said. Bowling continued, “Not only do we give them an
opportunity to start their day the right way, with a warm meal, but we also give them an opportunity to go to school, get an education, potentially break the cycle that they were born into ... and give them a fair and equal op- portunity to succeed the way any other student would. ●
Taylor Ekbatani and Ryan Gray contributed to this report.
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