Disabled Pupils Stranded as Catral School Bus Service Is Axed

Families in Catral, Spain are outraged after their children's access to education was jeopardized when school transport to Azorín School was suddenly halted. Among those impacted is 12-year-old Ema Vasileva Lyutkova, who has cerebral palsy and attends the school's specialized unit for pupils with additional educational needs. Ema, unable to walk or speak, relies on an electronic communication device for interaction.

She has been using an adapted minibus to travel from Rojales to Catral since enrolling at the school three years ago. However, upon arriving at the bus stop for the first day of term this year, the vehicle never showed up.

Parents had long feared that the service might be discontinued. In May, the school's Parents' Association, management, and representatives from Catral Council wrote to the regional education ministry requesting the service's retention. Despite their efforts, they received no response. Families believed they were safe to continue with the service after the Generalitat announced in June that school transport contracts worth over €12.5 million would cover 12 Vega Baja municipalities, including Catral.

These contracts would provide daily transport for 4,400 pupils and guarantee equal access to education.

However, parents now claim they were misled and denied the chance to protest before the new school year commenced. Around 20 pupils and their families are believed to be affected. Some reside in rural areas where walking to school involves hazardous journeys on roads without sidewalks, bike lanes, or street lighting. One mother, Noelia, faces a four-kilometer, hour-long walk with her ten-year-old daughter and 11-month-old baby.

Transport routes typically require at least 15 eligible pupils, with students generally living more than three kilometers from their school. Yet, exceptions exist for particularly difficult access situations. The regional education ministry stated that Ema was the only eligible pupil traveling from Rojales and that the route did not meet minimum requirements.

Officials explained she would receive individual transport assistance instead, enabling her to stay at the same school and classroom. Ema's mother, Dilyana Velinova Nikolova, argues that financial assistance is inadequate, as some families lack suitable vehicles, cannot adjust school journeys to their working hours, or have no accessible public transport.

Parents are now demanding an immediate alternative, warning that withdrawing the service risks transforming a guaranteed right to education into one some vulnerable children cannot physically access.