Parents Continue Federal Lawsuit Against Middletown School District Over Busing

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Last month, the Middletown school district agreed to provide a school bus for three children who go to New Monmouth Elementary. The children's mother is legally blind.

However, the district said the bus will only be provided for the 2025-'26 school year. There is no guarantee a bus will be provided the entire time the kids are enrolled in Middletown schools.

That's why Rob and Carolyn Bradfield are not dropping their federal lawsuit against the Middletown school district. Last Friday, Aug. 29, a federal judge determined their lawsuit can proceed in the courts, said their lawyer, David Giles.

"Although the district granted the parents' request for transportation for this year, it still disputes that the mother is entitled to transportation for her children to accommodate her disability," said Giles. "Consequently, they may deny transportation again in the future."

He hopes a federal judge rules Carolyn Bradfield is permanently entitled to a school bus because of her disability, he said.

"The parents would like to ensure that transportation is not denied again in the years to come," he said. "I am hopeful that a decision may be issued before the start of school next year."

"Our primary objective is to receive a court order for Middletown to revise its transportation policy in order to provide an accommodation for us every year moving forward," Carolyn Bradfield said Friday. "And to have our attorney fees paid."

The couple also wants the Middletown school district to pay them for "damages for loss of educational time due to tardiness and absences and the unnecessary hardship on our family for years."

Busing to get to school has always been a thorny issue in Middletown. Some Lincroft families have been asking for a bus to take their kids to South for years — and were denied by the district. In 2021, a group of parents said it wasn't fair teenagers had to walk along a dangerous stretch of Middletown-Lincroft Road to get to South.

The Bradfields argue that their case is entirely separate, because she is disabled.

Carolyn Bradfield has Usher syndrome, a genetic condition that causes Deafblindness. She suffers from moderate to severe hearing loss and has worn hearing aids since she was two years old. In 2020, when she was 33 years old, doctors told Bradfield that her vision had deteriorated to the extent that she was legally blind. She does not currently have a driver's license, and her peripheral vision is only 12 degrees, whereas it should be 180 degrees.

The Bradfields live about 1.5 miles by car from New Monmouth Elementary, and a 1.9-mile walk, so they do not qualify to receive busing from the district.

Patch asked Middletown superintendent Jessica Alfone to respond. On Friday, Eric Harrison, the school district's lawyer handling this case, said the following:

"Fortunately we have been able to provide the Bradfields with transportation this year, as there is a pre-existing route which can accommodate them. We cannot guarantee courtesy transportation every year, as a school district’s transportation resources are limited by law."

"If the court tells us that the law requires us to create a new bus run for the Bradfields because of Mrs. Bradfield’s disability, then of course we will abide by that order," said Harrison. "Until then, we will do our best to accommodate all parents and guardians facing a transportation hardship by putting their children on pre-existing bus runs, if we can do so without jeopardizing the transportation of students who live more than two miles away."

Harrison also said Friday:

"We generally owe transportation to all students who reside more than two miles away from their assigned schools. Parents and guardians who reside within two miles of their children’s assigned schools generally have to make their own arrangements. When a parent or guardian experiences a hardship in getting a student to or from school, if an existing bus run can accommodate the student, then we will assign the student to that bus run. Unfortunately, we do not always have enough bus runs available to accommodate every family living less than two miles away from the student’s assigned school and experiencing such a hardship."

Across the state of New Jersey, if you live less than 2 miles from your child's elementary school or 2.5 miles from your child's middle or high school, the school district is not required to provide a bus.

Prior: Middletown Schools Will Provide A Bus For Legally Blind Mother's Children (Aug. 14)

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