Education Minister Yoav Kish and the Jerusalem District staff of the Education Ministry paid an official visit to Beit Shemesh this morning. They started at the Navon School in the old part of the city. Later he will visit the Jabotinsky school and then Nezach institutions.

Protest by the children and parents of the Chabad school. The school still hasn't opened, due to renovations that were begun two days before the  start of the year. The protesters stood outside the school that the Education Minister was visiting this morning, with big signs and loud complaints. 

Protest by Parents of Special Education Children at 11:30am Today.
A group of parents whose children still don't have transport to schools and kindergartens are protesting today at 11:30am outside the Iriya building in Naimi Plaza.

The Beit Shemesh Municipality to Present a Compensation Plan for Parents of Special Education Students
Following the disruptions this week in transportation for special education students, during which some children were forced to stay home, the Beit Shemesh Municipality is working to find a solution for both parents and children.

On Thursday a meeting was held with the company which is responsible for the transportation. It was clarified that the company bears full responsibility for providing the service and must deliver an immediate and complete solution. At the same time, a temporary arrangement was formulated to ease the hardship until the system resumes full operation.

As part of the new arrangement, parents whose children did not receive transportation will be entitled to daily financial compensation. The compensation will be transferred to eligible parents from funds originally allocated to the transportation company.

Mayor Shmuel Greenberg said "I hear very clearly the parents’ distress and see the difficulties faced by the children. We are offering a temporary solution to ensure that the children can reach their educational frameworks until the company fully restores its service. We will not allow a situation in which special education students are left without transportation."