Louise, 9 years old, like 450 other disabled children will no longer be able to benefit from school transport from the start of the school year

“Something extra? One less important thing for @loireatlantique”, jokes Caroline Boudet Caroline Boudet is the mother of Louise, 9, who has Down syndrome. The little girl has so far been able to benefit from this collective transport, which has allowed her parents to breathe, but at the beginning of the school year they will be able to do so. to find a new solution.
“No doubt there will be times when we have to choose between working or taking Louise to school », he testifies France Blue Rémy, Louise’s father. “This would waste us almost 45 minutes in the morning and afternoon, depending on traffic. »

The Loire-Atlantique Departmental Council will no longer support families whose children go to school less than five kilometers from home at primary school and less than ten kilometers at secondary school. Instead, they will receive a mileage allowance, based on their tax income. Parents who accompany their child on public transport will have their season ticket refunded. If they call a companion, this will also be the case.

The motivations of the Departmental Council

Also speaking to France Bleu, the director general of the Department's Solidarity, Cécile Chollet, declared that she understood “personal organizational concerns”. She supports it, howeverbetween 2018 and 2024 the number of students transported increased by 29%. And that the budget for disability has increased, in the same period, from six to ten million euros: “No, we're not saving money. As I told you, the disability budget is increasing. It is even the one that will increase the most in 2024. The support is endless. In fact it modulates but it is not an economy as such. ". A decision that does not convince the affected families who have launched a petition on Change.org. To date it has collected 4,116 signatures.

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