Brock said his counselor with Tennessee’s Vocational Rehabilitation program told him his transportation was no longer available. He is studying sports communication with a concentration in broadcast announcing and hopes to work for a Nashville-area sports station or local team.

To prepare for that career, Brock and a professor spent nine weeks researching and adapting Austin Peay’s television and radio studios so he could use the equipment. His senior coursework calls for him to be on campus five days a week, he said, and the practical experience cannot be recreated at home.

Public transit and rideshare have not proved reliable alternatives, Brock said. Uber and Lyft are scarce where he lives, while getting to a bus would require a ride to another community and additional transportation to campus. Friends have helped with some trips, but he has not been able to attend consistently.

His professors have worked around the disruption, and Brock said he had not missed tests or assignments when interviewed. But he worries about losing the studio experience essential to his career. Withdrawing could delay his expected graduation from May to December 2027 and jeopardize a potential job opportunity, he said.

Brock also said a suggestion that he move into university housing was not practical: he owns a home and has animals, and he was told campus housing was full. Austin Peay tried to find transportation funding, he said, but had not secured help to cover the rides. An initial appeal was denied, and he was waiting for a fair hearing to be scheduled.

The National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee is asking the state Department of Human Services to restore previously approved rides as it reviews changes to transportation payments. The organization’s affiliate president, Amanda Juetten, said she has spoken with 10 affected students; all but one are blind. Two transportation companies, ZipRide and LuxRide, reported that 27 customers with regularly scheduled rides were affected, including 25 who are blind or have significant vision loss, she said. Those figures were gathered by the organization and are not a statewide count confirmed by the department.

The dispute centers on rates in a draft Vocational Rehabilitation transportation policy that advocates say took effect Oct. 1. Under the fee schedule described by the federation, a one-way trip of up to 20 miles pays $25. For longer trips, the entire trip shifts to a mileage-based formula; Juetten said that would pay about $16 for a 21-mile trip.

Juetten said the rates do not adequately cover providers’ expenses, including drivers, fuel and insurance, or the additional assistance some riders need. The federation says both companies are willing to resume previously authorized rides at prior rates while negotiations continue, and to provide shorter rides at the new $25 rate.

The organization says Juetten requested emergency restoration on Oct. 5. It says Assistant Commissioner Suzanne Carr responded the next day that counselors were contacting affected customers about alternatives and that providers were unwilling to accept the new rates. Juetten said students who contacted her had not found a replacement that was safe, reliable and workable. Public transit may also require orientation and mobility training, she said, and some riders need more assistance than a curbside pickup and drop-off.

The federation is seeking restoration of existing rides and rates, faster negotiations with providers and a formal review of the policy. It says the version posted by the department remains labeled a draft. The department had not provided answers to questions about the changes, rates, the number of affected customers or immediate assistance by publication.

Brock said he is weighing how long he can stay enrolled without dependable transportation. He said leaving school would be a painful choice, and that he is concerned other students could face the same decision.