NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: School Bus Companies Threaten to Halt NYC Service, Record Homelessness Among Students, and a Fierce Debate Over New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Bill

Episode Date: October 21, 2025

School bus companies are warning they may stop service for 150,000 New York City students next month if emergency contracts with the Department of Education aren’t extended. Meanwhile, a new report shows a record 154,000 students in the city experienced homelessness during the last school year WNYC’s Jessica Gould has the latest. Plus, Governor Katy Hochul is weighing a bill that would allow doctors to help terminally ill patients end their lives. WNYC’s Jon Campbell reports on the emotional debate surrounding New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act.

School bus companies say they could shut down service for thousands of New York City students. A new report finds student homelessness at a record high. And Governor Kathy Hokel weighs a bill that would let terminally ill New Yorkers in their lives with medical help. For WMYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Jinné Pierre. In New York City, emergency contracts between school bus companies and the education department are set to expire. And the bus companies are saying they may have to be. the stop service on November 1st. Any disruption to service could cause chaos for students and their

parents. But many parents have also called on the city to demand the bus companies improve service. WMYC's education reporter Jessica Gould is here with the latest. All right, Jessica, so what's going on? Why are these bus companies saying that they may have to stop service? So the contracts with many of the companies expired over the summer. And since then, the city has been doing these emergency extensions on a month-to-month basis. The bus companies say, though, if the current contract runs out at the end of October, they'll be forced to lay off employees and stop service. Now, the city officials say that they'll keep doing these month-to-month extensions, that it's totally common and there's no reason for the bus companies to threaten a shutdown. The bus companies, on the other

hand, say this is not sustainable for their businesses. Now, you've reported on problems with buses quite a bit, Jessica, including some no-show buses, like buses that just don't even show up, delays that have caused kids to miss schools, or, you know, endure really long bus rides. How does this issue with the contracts relate to service? Yeah, this gets in the weeds a little bit, so bear with me. But because of the way that labor laws work in the state and also the need for seniority protections for drivers, the city has had to extend old contracts. for decades. We're talking like 45 years, and that's rather than write new ones. So what's at issue here

is just how long these old contracts will continue to be extended. Now, advocates for better bus service say these old contracts don't have the requirements and they don't have the teeth that you need to get better bus service. So they only want short-term extensions while this labor issue is worked out in Albany. And then they want to write new contracts that would require bus companies to do a better job. So what's the next here? Like, will there actually be a major shutdown? We don't know yet. The bus companies can sign another emergency agreement and keep service going. An official I talked to said it's really in their court at this point. Any shutdown, though, would be a huge problem. The buses serve 150,000 kids, and many of them are the most vulnerable students in the city, you know,

including students with disabilities and homeless students. But what I see here is a warning shot from bus companies, and they're sending a couple of messages. It's a negotiating tactic. They want to bring this to a resolution, and they want to reach a deal before a new mayoral administration comes in. They don't want more delays to the contract extensions. Schools Chancellor Melissa Avelas Ramos referred to the political calendar in a statement she gave to us, and she did call for another emergency extension and said it's important to let the democratic process play out. You mentioned homeless students who rely on school bus service, and earlier this week, you covered a really grim statistic about those kids, new data that shows that there's a record high number of homeless students in the city's public schools, about 154,000.

And that's one in seven public school students. Why is that number so high? Yeah, it's an enormous number and it's been enormously high for years. The total number of homeless students in the public school system has been over 100,000 for a decade now. And it's a sign of how dire the city's affordability crisis is. You know, rents are high and it's difficult for families to stay in their housing. We know domestic violence also plays a role. And then in recent years, that number has grown even more with the arrival of tens of thousands of migrant students. Yeah, for sure. What are the challenges that homeless students face these days? There's so many, as you can imagine, with the stress of the disruptions in their life being probably the highest. But for many homeless families, they have to move a lot, whether it's from one shelter to another or one family member to a friend's house. And they're allowed by law to stay in the schools that they were in. But that can cause really long commutes.

An expert with the nonprofit advocates for children told me that 40% of homeless children are shuffled from a shelter placement in one borough to a whole other borough. So that's really long commutes. And then with the busing problems we've mentioned, it can be hard for these kids to get to school. Absenteeism is really high. Grades and scores tend to be lower. it's all just very difficult for these children. Yeah, I can only imagine.

What can be done to help these kids? In many ways, it's a housing issue. And as you know, affordability has taken center stage in the mayor's race. But advocates also want to see better coordination between city agencies that handle housing and schools and transportation so that the kids can get to school more consistently, stay in schools close to where they live and get the support. that they need. That's WNYC's Jessica Gould. Thanks a lot, Jess. Thanks. Coming up, Governor Kathy Hokel weighs whether doctors should be allowed to help terminally ill patients in their lives. It's a debate that's divided lawmakers, faith leaders, and families across the state.

Governor Kathy Hokel is weighing whether to sign legislation that would allow health providers to help people with a terminal illness in their life. NYC's John Campbell has been reporting on the fierce lobbying over the Medical Aid and Dying Act. So, John, tell me about this bill that's on Governor Hokel's desk. Yeah, so like you said, this is called the Medical Aid and Dying Act. And basically what it would do, it would let doctors prescribe lethal drugs to terminally ill patients with less than six months to live, but only if the patient themselves request it. Oh, that's a big deal.

What's driving this push now in 2025? Well, what's really driving this is a group of terminally ill New Yorkers and their family members who have been at the Capitol year after year after year in yellow T-shirts. And they urged lawmakers to act. And finally, they did earlier this year. They passed the bill. And, you know, it had been around for almost a decade, but this year's version was the first to pass both the Senate and the Assembly. It's going to head to the governor's desk. If Governor Hockel signs it, New York would be the 12th state to author.

authorize physician-assisted death in some form. Okay, so I know you talked to some sources about this, right? Yeah, I did. I spoke to a man named Jeremy Boll. Until recently, he was the chief medical officer for the Mount Sinai health system. Dr. Ball, how are you? Please call me Jeremy. I'm good.

It's great to be you. It's really a pleasure meeting with you. I met him and his wife, Becky, at their house in Columbia County, which is a couple hours north of Manhattan on a peaceful property with a, a goat barn and a chicken coop. We've got the five goats. I think you can probably hear a rooster cockadoodle doing out there. So Dr. Bowle made his career saving the lives of others,

but due to an ALS diagnosis in 2023, this is where he spends most of his time these days. ALS, its official name is amyletrophic lateral sclerosis. It's also known as Lugarig's disease. He's since retired and has to use a walker now. and he's also come to terms with the fact that ALS will eventually paralyze him and kill him. I'm sure this is difficult to process. Yeah, for sure.

And he says he slipped into a deep depression until he realized he could take a measure of control over how his life ends. I started to realize that, you know, this isn't the 90s anymore, that there are a number of states where medical aid and dying is legal. the Medical Aid in Dying Act. Yeah, exactly. I talked to Corinne Carey, who's with a group called Compassion and Choices, which has been pushing the bill for years. We are gathered here today

to plead with the governor to make a swift decision and sign this bill so that people who are dying don't have to suffer. I spoke to her before a rally at the state capital, and she talked about what the group

is trying to do and who they're up against. Your biggest opposition is who? The New York State Catholic Conference, frankly. The New York State Catholic Conference. Yeah, it's a group that represents the state's Catholic bishops. I'm Edward Sharfenberger. I am the Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Albany.

At least he was the Albany Bishop. Bishops traditionally retire at the age of 75, and the Pope just accepted his retirement on Monday, if you can believe it. But anyway, the bishops have opposed physician-assisted death for years on religious grounds and on moral grounds, too. I'm opposed to the bill because of the people that hurts, particularly aging people, but it doesn't only affect aging people. Anybody that's struggling with the terminal illness or a very painful chapter in their life. I'm not sure I understand what he means here. Isn't the bill supposed to help people who need it?

well, they fear that this is a slippery slope, right? If it's for terminally ill people with six months or less to live now, what is it going to be tomorrow? And they point to opposition from some disability rights groups too, who worry that, you know, often people with disabilities can be viewed as a burden. And if this exists and maybe is expanded someday down the road, that this could be used against them, essentially. And they worry that people, people be pressured into it. But also the religious aspect here, the Catholic Church teaches that life is from conception to natural death. And this bill runs counter with that. I try to have conversations with people to consider the implications. And that's what we're trying to do, basically to encourage people to think of what actually is happening right here and its implications. From what I understand, the bill applies to people with six months or less to live. How is that determined? So that's built into the bill, right? This is a safeguard where two physicians would have to certify that the patient is eligible.

And if either of them thinks that the patient lacks mental health capacity, they'd have to be referred for further evaluation. Okay, okay. I see. Yeah, and the bishops are hoping their message can get through to the governor, who often speaks about her Catholic upbringing. But she also knows what it's like to care for someone with a terminal disease. mother died of ALS in 2014. And supporters of the bill are doing their best to be heard, too. June 24th, 2025. Dear Governor Hockel. Dear Governor Hockel. Terminally ill people and their loved ones have been writing personal letters. I mean,

really personal letters to the governor for months. Several of them agreed to read them out loud. Knowing I can access medical aid and dying has freed me from the fear of the future and allowed me to live. Cancer treatment is rough. But my death. That does not have to be one marked by suffering. Please. I ask that you sign this bill when given the chance. Oh, man. Are any of these letters working?

Is anything sticking? I mean, has the governor signaled which way she's leaning here? She hasn't signaled anything yet. And I asked her about it last month. We're all products of our own circumstances and life's influences, but I have to be very careful. Not to allow that to color my decision-making when I'm making a decision, and not for myself or my family,

but for 20 million New Yorkers. So when can New Yorkers expect a decision from the governor? Well, Janay, she has until the end of the year to sign or veto the bill. That's WNYC's John Campbell. Thanks, John. Thanks, Janay. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC.

I'm Jenae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.