Middletown Schools Will Provide A Bus For Legally Blind Mother's Children

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The Middletown mother who is legally blind said she was told this week the school district will provide a school bus for her three children this year.

Carolyn Bradfield said Middletown schools superintendent Jessica Alfone sent the family an email Wednesday informing them they would be receiving a school bus for the upcoming school year.

The Bradfield's three children, ages 9, 7 and 6, attend New Monmouth Elementary.

"The district has agreed to accommodate our children for the 2025-'26 school year with the understanding that each year they will need to reevaluate our situation," Bradfield told Patch.

"Clearly, this remains a concern for years to come if the district happens to pull back on this accommodation for our family," she continued. "Therefore, it is so important to keep the momentum going to make an impactful change and clarify the district's legal obligation under the Americans With Disabilities Act."

The Bradfields also launched this Change.org petition here: https://www.change.org/p/suppo..., which they said they plan to send to President Trump, and New Jersey's two U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim.

Many families in Middletown have asked the district to provide a school bus for their children, for various reasons.

Middletown — like most NJ school districts — is not legally required to provide a bus if you live less than 2 miles from your child's elementary or 2.5 miles from your child's middle or high school.

The Bradfields are 1.9 miles from New Monmouth Elementary. However, Carolyn Bradfield has Usher syndrome, which made her legally blind. She also suffers from moderate to severe hearing loss and uses hearing aids.

She and her husband argue it is extremely dangerous to expect her to walk her three small children to school with her severely reduced visibility and hearing, and that she is entitled to a school bus because she is disabled.

The Bradfields sued the Middletown school district over this matter in 2023, invoking the Americans With Disabilities Act. They said Thursday they do not plan to drop their lawsuit.

"We certainly will continue with the lawsuit as we are still waiting for the court to move forward with the next decision on accepting our amendment to add multiple counts for discrimination and disparate treatment," said Carolyn Bradfield Thursday.

She said the Middletown school district filed a motion to dismiss their new discrimination complaints.

Last week: Blind Mother Continues Legal Fight With Middletown To Get Busing For Her Kids To New Monmouth Elementary (Aug. 6)