R., a single mother of an 8-year-old girl with special needs who lives in Rehovot, waited today (Sunday), as she does every morning, for a bus to take her daughter at seven o'clock to the school in Ashdod, where she studies, but it did not arrive.
According to the law, and in order to make things easier for parents, school frameworks for children with special needs continue to operate during the holiday vacations, as do the shuttles that take them there. For R. and other parents, not arriving means leaving the child with special needs at home and canceling a day's work.
NRG - Teacher laughs at a student with special needs
R. did wait with her daughter for the ride, but she was not surprised when she did not arrive, since already last weekend the bus escort informed her parents that she had taken sick days until after the Chol Hamoed vacation, and therefore would not come. According to R., according to the escort, her superiors in the Rehovot municipality told her that it was her responsibility to inform the parents, and that taking sick days meant that there would simply be no transportation. "The escort updated us. No one from the municipality spoke to me, they didn't explain or update, and the shuttle just didn't arrive this morning," says R.
Since morning, she has tried to call the municipality to find out if a replacement has been found for the escort and what will happen later in the week, but without success. "I've tried to call a lot of numbers, there's just no one to talk to. The accompanying person's sick leave will last until the end of Chol Hamoed and we don't know what will happen later in the week. Will my daughter go to the framework or not? Do I need to cancel more workdays? I don't know."
Rehovot city sign at the entrance to the city, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
In the meantime, R. decided to go to the municipality herself, which, according to the municipality's website, is now open to the public until 12 o'clock, hoping that she might be able to get an answer. She got there with her daughter and rang for many minutes on the intercom, but no one opened it for her or responded. "I had to cancel a day of work and take a day off," she says, adding: "I think that this department, with everything that involves working with a disadvantaged population, behaves in an abusive, insulting, inconsiderate way. The disregard for the needs of the disabled in particular and their families is enormous! To think they didn't even bother to inform us, like we were second class! I'm angry and shocked."
The Rehovot municipality's response: "On the eve of the holiday, the escort announced that she was sick with COVID-<>, and at this late stage she did not find a replacement due to the shortage of manpower in the field. The escort was asked to update the parents on behalf of the municipality."
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us