CPS says some middle school students will get a ride in December.

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Chicago Public Schools officials said Friday that the district has made progress in providing student transportation after a difficult fall.

CEO Pedro Martinez told the school board that 148 students with disabilities are waiting for school bus rides, up from about 1,200 at the start of the school year. He said complaint to the Illinois State Department of Education about the district’s failure to provide transportation for students with disabilities is closed. And the district is preparing for the first time in the 2022-23 school year to start transporting a small number of students from selective general education institutions or magnet schools.

Martinez said the district will launch a pilot program Dec. 9 with select campuses participating transport hubsstarting with a few schools in disadvantaged areas. The district selects these centralized boarding and dropping-off campuses using its Opportunity Index, a measure that takes into account student demographics, district characteristics and other metrics, according to the school’s superintendent.

Families who qualify for rides from these hubs to their schools will receive calls during Thanksgiving week, he said. More school centers will be added later this school year as long as the setup doesn’t compromise travel times and access to attractions for students with disabilities.

“I promise you that we will not stop working on this problem,” Martinez said.

The district has struggled to provide student transportation in recent years, and its efforts to address the problem have repeatedly come under fire, even as officials blamed the lack of bus drivers and the strike at one of its transport contractors this fall. Last school year, after the state launched an investigation into the district’s busing problems for students with disabilities, the district stopped busing middle school students.

This fall, advocates for students with disabilities filed their latest complaint with the state, alleging that CPS is violating a federal law that requires districts to provide transportation services for students with disabilities. Martinez said the complaint had been looked into.

But CPS Parents for Buses, a group formed last school year in response to transportation concerns, said in a statement that district leaders said back in the summer that they would pilot the hub model during the first quarter of the year.

“It is unforgivable that two months after school started, some students with disabilities still do not have transportation, and thousands of low-income students and English language learners still do not have a safe way to get to school,” the group said.

CPS officials said they receive new requests for transportation every day, and some students waiting for rides have been asking for them in recent weeks.

“Our top priority remains getting our students with disabilities on bus routes within 10 days of their request,” Martinez said.

Charles Mayfield, the county’s chief operating officer, said the county has added new vehicle providers and has 835 drivers this fall, up from about 720 two years ago. In response to a question from board member Debbie Pope, he said the district estimates it will need about 1,300 drivers to offer rides to all students whose families request them.

Mila Kumpilova is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at [email protected].