Parent urges York School District One to phase out harness requirement for son on bus

Mary P, a parent and longtime advocate for people with developmental disabilities, told the York School District One Board that her son Joel — who has mosaic Down syndrome — was suspended from the school bus and later required to wear a harness for transport after an incident.

“My son is loving, empathetic and funny,” Mary P said. She described being told by transportation and a principal that Joel needed a harness; she said she initially refused but later agreed under pressure. She said the harness is heavy, “demeaning,” and “basically a straight jacket” that robs her son of dignity.

Mary P said the district used only anecdotal reports from a bus driver and that staff did not convene a meeting to review or reboot Joel’s behavior plan. She urged the district to follow the rule of least-restrictive intervention, meet with parents at the first sign of an emerging behavior, and design a plan that phases out restraints and trains staff in positive, teachable alternatives.

“I argued the following points: he had one bad day — why didn’t we just get together and reboot the plan, meet staff, reset and restart?” she said. Mary P said there was no communicated plan to phase out the harness and asked what will happen next.

Mary P offered her professional help, noting three decades of experience, and said she would be happy to work with the district to develop plans, staff training and communication protocols. The board moved on to the consent agenda after the public comment period; no board action on the harness was recorded on the minutes.

Why this matters: The comments raise a procedural and civil-rights issue for students with disabilities: parents said they did not receive a documented plan or periodic review and that the intervention felt punitive rather than instructive. The parent asked for clearer communication, staff training on least-restrictive practices, and an exit plan for the harness.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: Mary P asked to speak with staff after the meeting and offered her services; the transcript records no immediate board directive or formal vote on the matter.