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Special-needs students will have smoother ride to school

The city of Calgary paved a gravel road full of potholes last month after parents filed a human rights complaint. The parents were concerned that riding over the uneven road in school buses would injure students in wheelchairs.

November 9, 2009
1 min to read


CALGARY, Alberta — A gravel road full of potholes was paved recently, making the bus ride to and from a local school more comfortable for special-needs students. 

CBC Newsreported that the parent council at Emily Follensbee School and the Calgary Board of Education had been asking the city to pave the bumpy road for some time.

Citing concern over the safety of students in wheelchairs, the parent council filed a human rights complaint with Alberta in September.

A parks manager with the city of Calgary told CBC News in mid-October that the road was paved. The parent council was therefore planning to drop the human rights complaint.  

However, Susan Shaner-Cortes, chair of the parent council, commented to the news source, "My wish would be that when issues like this are being addressed that they get done and people with disabilities get listened to before there has to be a huge complaint or a threat of a human rights complaint."

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