Garden State Times

Senator Kristin Corrado's bill to create a special education transportation task force has successfully passed the Senate Education Committee. The legislation aims to improve the safety and reliability of transportation for special needs children across the state.

“There are many good practices that districts across the state follow when transporting special needs children,” said Sen. Corrado. “However, recent events have shown our state can, and must, do better to assure parents that their children will be safely transported to and from their school. I want to thank Anabela Rossi for sharing the tragic story of her son, Matthew, with me and for working together to address this very important issue so no parent or child should ever have to go through what Matthew and his family endured.”

The incident that spurred this legislative action involved Matthew Rossi. According to NJ.com, on February 10, 2023, Kirk Rossi witnessed his son being taken off a bus in an apparently lifeless state while his nurse acted as if everything was normal.

Anabela and Kirk Rossi later learned troubling details about the incident. The nurse had reported that Matt's condition deteriorated just two blocks away from their home. However, it was later revealed by the bus company owner that they had pulled over much earlier due to Matt being in distress. Additionally, an aide disclosed that Matt’s N95 mask was full of mucus and secretions but instead of calling 911, the bus continued its route.

You can read the full bill, S-3447 [here](link).