SCHOOL buses are packing three and four teenagers into one seat whereas the same bus operator taking students to a disco would only be allowed two to a seat, said a delegate, Mr Pat O'Dwyer.
Ms Bernie O'Reilly, special education delegate, said the provision of transport for students with special needs often fell on the parents and, when they could not provide it, children might be placed in the wrong school solely because of lack of transport. She asked for these children to be accommodated on ordinary school buses.
After a heated debate, it was decided to amend a motion deploring the current state of the transport system to include a demand to have a representative on the Minister's school transport scheme review committee.
The motion then was carried unanimously.
Ms Bernie O'Neill proposed a motion calling on the Department of Education to establish a central information base or clearing house to support and provide schools and parents with the information they needed to incorporate a student with a disability into mainstream education.
Another motion asked the Department of Education to provide integrated education within mainstream schools for people with physical disabilities.
Motions demanding the abolition of Junior and Leaving Certificate fees were unanimously carried.
A motion asking for the establishment of an additional educational board for all Irish schools and Gaeltacht schools was carried.