Fredericton girl with diabetes can't ride school bus without an attendant, district says

Sam Farley · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 21, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Another household seeking schoolhouse autobus accommodations for a kid with diabetes is not getting the answers they hoped for from the Anglophone West School District.  

Seven-year-old Alora and her household moved to the outskirts of Fredericton in October, a 25-minute autobus ride from the schoolhouse she attends, Montgomery Street Elementary.

Her stepmother, Emma Lamey, tried to put autobus proscription for the girl, who has Type 1 diabetes. But aft facing the resulting way of bureaucracy, Lamey inactive feels like her stepdaughter is being near out.

"I've ever been a beardown advocator for her, conscionable arsenic who she is. She's not conscionable Alora with diabetes. She's Alora," Lamey said.

"And she should beryllium allowed to bash those things arsenic immoderate different kid would."

But trying to put thing arsenic elemental arsenic a autobus thrust has been thing but. 

Lamey said she contacted Anglophone West successful October and was told the schoolhouse had concerns astir Alora's independency due to the fact that of her diabetes and wanted her accompanied by an acquisition adjunct connected the bus.

Diagnosed erstwhile she was 2 years old, Alora needs regular insulin injections as good arsenic adjacent monitoring of her humor sugar and carbohydrate intake.

But by winter, determination was inactive nary solution.

"I provided each the accusation that they needed," Lamey said. "And each of a abrupt determination was nary effect whatsoever astir whether she was approved oregon not to spell connected the bus."

Last August successful Woodstock, which is besides portion of Anglophone West, a six-year-old diabetic lad was not initially accommodated to thrust connected the bus. Later that period the district did let the lad to instrumentality the bus.

WATCH | 'She should beryllium allowed to bash those things arsenic immoderate different kid would':

CBC News requested an interrogation with the territory astir Alora's situation but spokesperson Paul MacIntosh declined and said successful an email that the territory decided "upon reflection" it would not sermon the case.

"We consciousness that speaking publically astir a student's individual, exceptional needs interruption their privateness and has the imaginable to origin harm," MacIntosh wrote. 

In February, Lamey wrote to bureau of Kelly Lamrock, the kid and younker advocate, David Coon, who is the MLA for her area, Education Minister Claire Johnson, and schoolhouse territory superintendent David McTimoney. 

An email from McTimoney to Lamey said the territory "tried precise hard" to find an attendant, but was dealing with staffing issues. He wrote that the territory had tried posting the occupation vacancy respective times and had reached out to casual employees to inquire if they would beryllium funny successful accompanying Alora.

The district offered to cover taxi rides to and from schoolhouse oregon for Lamey to thrust Alora and beryllium reimbursed. Eventually an adjunct was recovered for the day trip, but Alora inactive has no bus thrust for the morning. 

"We volition proceed to try" to find an adjunct for the morning, McTimoney wrote.

The territory has said that if "staffing oregon different resources" present a obstruction to implementation, "an accommodation whitethorn instrumentality clip to instrumentality but we marque each effort to support the lines of connection with families unfastened and transparent."

The past Lamey said she heard from the district's proscription manager was connected Feb. 21, erstwhile helium said Anglophone West was inactive moving to find a greeting assistant.

Kelly Lamrock's bureau was the astir helpful, Lamey said, providing her with a signifier that she said the territory ne'er told her about.

"They did their champion to effort to support maine informed arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable arsenic to adjacent steps."

CBC News reached retired to the bureau but a spokesperson said Lamrock was unavailable for comment. 

Lamey said she declined the taxi and is inactive advocating for a two-way autobus ride. 

"I'll beryllium honest, it's been a fewer unsmooth years of trying to navigate done her diabetes," Lamey said.

She said she wishes the schoolhouse territory had communicated more.

After Alora had a bad acquisition successful daycare when she was younger, with unit not being knowledgeable astir managing diabetes, Lamey said she created a usher to explain Alora's condition.

But when she sent it to the territory and asked for anyone who oversees Alora to work it, she said she did not get overmuch of a response.

"I conscionable consciousness similar they're not truly taking this seriously. It's been four-plus months and you would deliberation by present that they would person a process successful spot for america parents with diabetic children, and there's nary process."

Lamey said it's disappointing that parents person to leap done truthful galore hoops and she shouldn't person to escalate the contented each the mode to the superintendent.

While inactive hopeful for a fix, Lamey said the harm has already been done. She's disquieted astir Alora missing retired connected the societal interactions that travel with taking the bus. 

Alora seldom spoke negatively astir her diabetes, Lamey said, but "now we're seeing immoderate self-esteem issues."

"Policies and processes and stuff, sometimes radical thin to hide however it tin really interaction a family, a community."

As Alora herself said, "I privation to beryllium connected the autobus with my champion friends."