The New Jersey Legislature has approved legislation creating a task force to study and recommend transportation policies for students who receive special education services.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblymen Al Barlas and Christopher DePhillips, passed both houses on Monday, January 12, and now heads to the governor’s desk. According to a release, lawmakers say the measure responds to longstanding concerns from parents and disability advocates about safety, training, and oversight in special education transportation.

“Several tragic and preventable incidents involving vulnerable children with disabilities on school buses have underscored the need for reforms that will put the safety of New Jersey kids first. No student on their way to or from school should be harmed because of a lack of training, communication, or accountability,” Barlas said in a statement.

The legislation follows multiple high-profile incidents in recent years involving students with disabilities who experience medical emergencies or harm while being transported to school. Advocates and families have called for stronger safeguards and improved staffing and training standards.

Recent notable cases:

• In 2023, six-year-old Fajr Atiya Williams, who had a rare genetic condition, and 19-year-old Matthew Rossi, who had muscular dystrophy and autism, died on a school bus in separate incidents while aides and drivers missed signs of distress.

• In 2022, a 16-year-old Cape May County student with Rett syndrome, Landon Goff, died after experiencing a medical emergency while riding the bus.

• More recently, parents of a 14-year-old girl with autism say their daughter was sexually assaulted on the way to a special needs school in Passaic County after no adult intervened.

“Parents of children with special needs place a tremendous amount of trust in the school district, the bus aides, and the drivers to transport their children safely to school. Unfortunately, a routine that should be reliable and commonplace has become a source of fear for many parents for good reason. It needs to be fixed, and that starts with this legislation,” DePhillips said.

Special Education Transportation Task Force Takes Shape

Under the bill (A4607/S3447), a 23-member Special Education Transportation Task Force will review current school transportation policies, identify safety concerns, examine best practices from other states, and evaluate staffing levels and communication with parents and guardians.

The task force will also study certification and training requirements for school bus drivers, bus aides, and school nurses who transport students receiving special education services. Within a year, the task force will issue a report to the governor and legislature.

According to the state’s ombudsman for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, nearly 1,800 student transportation vendors operate in New Jersey, serving approximately 8,500 students with significant disabilities who attend out-of-district schools. Lawmakers have raised concerns about inconsistent oversight and varying credential standards among transportation providers.

“Every school vehicle and bus transporting children with disabilities must fully and safely support their needs,” Barlas and DePhillips said. “Kids of all abilities deserve the rightful opportunity to be a part of a school community where they can participate and learn, and safe transportation is the foundation to that fair and accessible education.”

Tragedy Fuels Calls for Reform and Greater Oversight

Anabela Rossi, the mother of Matthew Rossi, said she last saw her son on February 10, 2023. According to Gene Myers in an article on NorthJersey.com, it was a preventable death, his parents insist, “one of several tragedies in recent years that highlight serious problems with the transport of special education students.”

"Matthew was the happiest and hardest-working young man I've ever met," his mother said in a 2025 interview with Myers. "He loved life. He loved school."

However, since the fatal incident, New Jersey has been slow to announce regulations, with disability advocates saying the changes have mainly focused on the physical condition of the vehicles rather than the needs of riders with medical conditions that make them “uniquely vulnerable.”

"There's an urgent need for reforms and greater accountability," Paul Aronsohn, the state ombudsman for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, told Myers.

For years, he said, parents have come to him with concerns about insufficient communication, broken cameras on school vehicles, inadequate training for drivers and aides, and a lack of answers from school district officials.

Rossi vowed to remain a steadfast voice for reform. Driven by Matthew's memory, according to Myers, she wants to prevent other families from experiencing the same heartbreak.

"This is about human lives, our children's lives," she said. "How many more losses must we endure before our voices are heard and the necessary changes are made?"