MIDDLETOWN, NJ – A mother living with deafblindness is locked in a years-long battle to secure school transportation for her children after being denied bussing due to district policy, she says.
Carolyn Bradfield, who suffers from a genetic disorder that causes hearing and vision loss, says walking her kids to school is unsafe—and driving is no longer an option.
The school district says she lives too close to qualify, despite her disability and repeated pleas for accommodation.
Bradfield, diagnosed with Usher syndrome, has experienced hearing loss since she was 2 and now lives with progressive vision loss as well. She stopped driving in 2020 due to her condition and has since relied on friends and neighbors to help get her three children to New Monmouth Elementary School.
The Bradfield home sits roughly 1.5 miles from the school by car—just short of the state minimum for school-provided transportation. But Carolyn says the walking route is dangerous, requiring her to cross multiple 40 mph roads while guiding three young children, something she physically cannot do due to her condition.
She and her husband argue that the family qualifies for accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but Middletown Township Public Schools has so far rejected that claim. Superintendent Jessica Alfone has reportedly declined requests to modify the policy or provide a transportation exception.
As a result, the family says their children have suffered academically. During the 2021–2022 school year alone, their two oldest children missed nearly a full month of school—mostly due to transportation issues stemming from Carolyn’s inability to walk them safely to class.
The family continues to pursue a resolution with the district while managing daily transportation struggles. Advocacy groups have taken interest in the case, viewing it as a test of how school policies intersect with federal disability law.
