REPORTS TO: Office of the Superintendent

ACADEMIC/NON-ACADEMIC: Non-Academic

 

General Description: The Boston Public Schools (BPS) is the largest school district in Massachusetts with nearly 50,000 students and a $1.3B budget. The BPS Department of Transportation is responsible for transporting 22,000 students to approximately 221 schools (public, private, parochial, and charter schools) across the Boston area safely and on-time every day. This includes nearly 6,000 special education students who receive specialized transportation services (e.g. door-to-door transportation, special education bus monitors, etc) based on their Individualized Education Program (IEP) and/or 504 Plans developed through the Office of Special Education. In February of 2023, BPS received a Corrective Action Plan from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) detailing actions that must be taken to ensure compliance with its special education transportation obligations.

 

Position Overview: The Manager of Special Education Transportation Compliance will be responsible for providing project management, strategic coordination, and implementation support for key initiatives to improve transportation services for students with specialized transportation, with an emphasis on implementation, assessment, and reporting for the Corrective Action Plan set forth by DESE. The Manager will be the primary point of contact with DESE on special education transportation compliance and will provide monthly progress reports to the Department detailing the District’s progress. They will report to the Office of the Superintendent and will be expected to provide support to the Executive Director of Transportation and Assistant Superintendent of Special Education. They will work cross-functionally with the Office of the Superintendent, Department of Transportation (DOT), the Office of Special Education (OSE), Problem Resolution System Manager, and other internal and external stakeholders as needed. They will also lend support to DOT and OSE stakeholders through attendance at School Leader meetings, SpEdPAC meetings, School Committee and City Council Hearings as needed, and other community engagement meetings as assigned.

 

This individual should be a self-starter with the ability to prioritize and execute multiple tasks and projects. The ideal candidate for this position will demonstrate excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written; bring knowledge of special education and/or school transportation systems; have excellent judgment; and have the ability to manage a fast-paced and multi-faceted workload with keen attention to detail.

 

Responsibilities:

• Assess and report on the District’s compliance with its special education transportation obligations, including the District’s established compliance obligations with DESE
• Serve as the primary point of contact with DESE on special education transportation compliance. Provide monthly progress reports to the Superintendent and DESE detailing the District’s progress on the specific items set forth in the Corrective Action Plan
• Work cross-functionally with and provide support to Department of Transportation and Office of Special Education leadership to assess special education transportation needs and shortcomings, develop action plans to ensure compliance, and support implementation. Focus areas will include, but are not limited to, parental notification and reimbursement processes, process for obtaining compensatory services, training of transportation providers on special education needs, and communications structures to ensure timely and adequate communications to families about special education transportation
• Convene, lead, and participate in cross-functional working groups necessary to ensure progress is made in improving special education transportation and ensuring compliance
• Create and maintain a progress monitoring system of the district’s compliance metrics regarding special education transportation
• Develop and update project plan trackers for each of the items set forth in the Corrective Action Plan as well as other implementation action plans to improve special education transportation
• Assess and identify areas for standardization of processes and procedures, changes to policies, or system improvements to improve special education transportation
• Support the Office of Special Education with training, written guidance, and monitoring processes related to the assignment of bus monitors and other specialized transportation services within student IEPs
• Manage written communications related to the DESE Corrective Action Plan, including drafting memos and presentations for regular updates to district senior leadership and preparing communications to stakeholders within the BPS community, including but not limited to families, students, community partners, school staff, district staff, and district leadership
• Attend, participate in, support planning of Transportation Advisory Council (TAC) meetings. The TAC is a forum for a range of stakeholders - including families and students, community partners, and Boston Public Schools staff - to share information about key transportation issues, engage in collaborative problem-solving, monitor progress, and advocate for further systemic improvements to the district’s transportation.
• Attend, participate in, and at times plan meetings related to special education transportation compliance with stakeholders within the BPS community, including but not limited to families, students, community partners, school staff, district staff, and district leadership
• Work cross-functionally with DOT and OSE to build understanding and knowledge base across both departments. Support DOT and OSE leadership with other tasks as assigned by their supervisor
• Maintain confidentiality and exhibit discretion and professionalism in all activities.
• Assist the Superintendent, Chief of Staff, and Assistant Superintendent for Data Strategy and Implementation with other duties as assigned.

 

Qualifications - Required:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in a relevant field.
• Two or more years of work experience with progress monitoring, compliance, special education and/or school transportation systems
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and flexibly with a team of colleagues.
• Expertise in problem-solving utilizing a formal program/process.
• Ability to work on multiple, large-scale projects at one time
• Excellent organizational and time management skills, experience balancing competing priorities, and prioritizing resources.  
• Strong attention to detail
• Hands-on experience managing cross-functional projects or changes throughout all levels of an organization.
• Demonstrated strong communication skills, both verbal and written.
• A deeply held and unyielding belief in the overarching mission of public education and BPS’ role as an anti-racist organization.
• Successful experience working in a team-oriented environment; experience interacting with multiple internal/external stakeholder groups
• Ability to work independently entailing a high degree of responsibility, discretion and confidentiality
• Knowledge of educational systems and their norms, structures, and operational routines.
• Excellent computer skills, including Microsoft Office Suite, Google Suite, database management, and various project management software/apps (eg., Trello, Basecamp, JIRA, Asana, Freedcamp, etc.). 
• Current authorization to work in the United States

 

Qualifications - Preferred:

• Master’s Degree in Special Education, Business Administration, Public Administration, Education Leadership, or other related field
• Experience working in a large, urban school district setting
• Experience working in school transportation and/or special education
• BPS strongly prefers linguistic diversity, and we believe candidates who speak another language bring added value to the classroom, school, and district culture and diversity. BPS is particularly interested in candidates who are fluent in one of BPS' official languages: Spanish, Creole (Cape Verdean), Creole (Haitian), Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, & Somali.
• Familiarity with Boston and Boston Public Schools.

 

Terms: Managerial, C51 [$103,882]

 

Work Schedule: Eight hour day, steady with peak periods; some evening and weekend responsibilities driven by community engagement needs.

 

The Boston Public Schools, in accordance with its nondiscrimination policies, does not discriminate in its programs, facilities, employment, or educational opportunities on the basis of race, color, age, criminal record (inquiries only), disability, homelessness, sex/gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, genetics or military status and does not tolerate any form of retaliation, or bias-based intimidation, threat or harassment that demeans individuals’ dignity or interferes with their ability to learn or work.