My name is Celestine Caravaggio. I am a Toronto parent with a child in a TDSB special education program.

The Toronto District School Board is preparing to permanently eliminate its specialized accessible transportation service for students with developmental disabilities.

This is not simply a transportation cut.

It is the removal of a critical support that allows students with disabilities to access educational programming they are legally entitled to receive.

For more than 30 years, specially trained drivers operating fully accessible buses have transported students to community-based learning programs across Toronto. These programs are not optional. They are part of students' Individual Education Plans and are essential for developing independence, communication, social integration, and life skills.

Without accessible transportation, many students will be unable to participate.

Other students will continue to access their educational opportunities. Students with developmental disabilities will not.

That is not equity.

That is not inclusion.

And it raises serious concerns about equal access to education for students with disabilities.

The TDSB has already directed these specialized drivers to leave the program. Once this unit is dismantled, it may be impossible to rebuild.

The decision must be paused immediately.

We call on Ontario's Minister of Education, the TDSB administration, and the Board of Trustees to stop this cut, review its impact on students with disabilities, and ensure that accessible transportation remains in place until an equivalent service is guaranteed.

Students with disabilities should not be the first place we cut.

Equal access to education is not a luxury.  It is a right.

If removing a service means a student with a disability can no longer access a required part of their education, the issue is no longer transportation—it is access to education.

Sign the petition. Share it. Contact your trustee and the Ministry of Education today.