Fifteen year-old Ahjaah Jewett knows what it's like to ride a school bus without any air conditioning on a hot summer day. Last year, the Bronx teen said her bus to and from a special education program in Manhattan was so uncomfortable that many of her classmates were "red-faced and sweaty." At one point, she said, she called 911.

"That was not a good day. The bus was hot like an oven," she recalled.

Public Advocate Letitia James said she's heard a lot of complaints like that from families of children with special needs, which is why she's joining two of them in suing the city. She said the Department of Education is violating a local law that requires air-conditioned buses for children with disabilities whenever the temperature gets above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

"D.O.E. must enforce the air-conditioning laws on all school buses, they must impose some fines on these companies," she said. "They must immediately set up a system to monitor bus temperatures."

James said she first complained to the city last summer and they assured her the problem would be fixed, but she continued hearing from families. She said she gave thermometers to some parents and they recorded temperatures as high as 90 degrees on school buses.

There are nearly 27,000 city children with disabilities who get year-round busing to their programs and schools. Catherine Simone of Queens, who is one of the plaintiffs, said her 10-year-old son has autism and doesn't do well in the heat. She said she has been complaining to the city since May about him riding buses that don't have air conditioning but no action was taken.

"His shirt was literally drenched, his face was red, he was sweaty and he was having trouble breathing," she said. "I said, enough is enough."

Department of Education spokesman Harry Hartfield said 86 percent of the city's 2800 special education bus routes have air conditioning.

“Our standard is that every child whose I.E.P. requires air conditioning must receive it and if ever a child, parent or teacher brings a problem to our attention, we will work to immediately correct it,” he said, referring to the special education term Individualized Education Program.

He also said the department will require air conditioning in all future bus contracts.

Brooklyn parent Celia Green, who has three children with autism, said air conditioning is much more than an issue of comfort. Many children with special needs have multiple health problems.

"You get scared that your kid might have a seizure or something else on a bus," she said. "Or asthma attack."