Special Needs / Accessibility Archives - School BUSRide


Mitigating Risk in Alternative Student Transportation

Many districts across the country are using alternative transportation options, but there are still quite a few that are leery of the risk it could mean for them. There are things that districts can do to help mitigate the risks associated with transporting students, specifically when it comes to small-capacity vehicles. Whether the district is […]

Special Needs Solutions

We’ve long said that there’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution when it comes to transporting kiddos with special needs. Each child has differing needs that need to be met, and that shouldn’t stop anyone from working to help these students have equal access to the same quality of education as their peers. What the student needs is […]

Member Spotlight: Jennifer Durno, Trumbull County Board of Developmental Disabilities

For this month’s NAPT Member Spotlight, School BUSRide spoke with Jennifer Durno, director of transportation for the Trumbull County Board of Developmental Disabilities in Niles, Ohio. Please introduce yourself and tell us about your district. I am Jennifer Durno, this is my 19th year in pupil transportation. I am currently working for the Trumbull County […]

Prioritizing Student Safety: Advancements in Alternative Student Transportation

Alternative student transportation providers help school districts ensure that every child gets access to the education they deserve. By using smaller-capacity vehicles, these transportation providers can accommodate the dynamic needs of students and serve children and youth on small routes, in hard-to-reach or remote areas, and those traveling between districts (just to name a few).  […]

Durham School Services Donates Bus for Mobile Mental Health “Chill Room”

Durham School Services (DSS), a leader in student transportation, has donated a school bus to the West Jefferson Hills (WJH) School District in Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, to renovate into a mobile “Chill Room/Makerspace” for its students. The Chill Room will allow students to seek innovative ways to help manage stress, anxiety, and focus on mental […]

A Formula for Specialized Transportation Decision-Making at Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team Meetings

An Individualized Education Program, commonly known as an IEP, is a child-specific written document to ensure that a child with an identified disability attending school receives appropriate specialized instruction and related services. “Related services means transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to […]

Highly Risk Intelligent School Districts

Enduring capacity and improvements in readiness, reliability, and resilience are needed to increase stakeholder confidence in public education Movies tend to bring us closer together in shared experiences. Sometimes the lessons imparted through the cinematic arts are obvious. All too often the lessons are obscured or lost in the drama and special effects.  What would […]

A Look at Post-COVID Special Needs Transportation

School BUSRide spoke with Kevin Trudeau, director of commercial sales for BraunAbility, to discuss accessible student transportation in the wake of COVID-19. BraunAbility provides mobility products to numerous transportation industries. Trudeau discussed disruptions due to the pandemic, new safety concerns, the role technology plays in the “new normal,” and more. From an equipment standpoint, what […]

Alternative Student Transportation Myths

Myth #1: The only students who need alternative transportation are children with special needs. We all love the show MythBusters because they were a team of professionals who took common myths most of us were familiar with and tried to prove them. Sometimes they did, and other times they either found that the myth was […]

Why is There Litigation in School Transportation?

Lessons from the Experts School districts are regularly assigned responsibility for transporting our nation’s school-age children with and without disabilities to and from school, utilizing school district vehicles and personnel, and/or approved contractor vehicles and personnel. Regardless of the service delivery model selected, it is reasonable to scrutinize if school transportation safety practices are given […]