By Fatima Jalloh It is important to not only assist first responders, but also those who support their vital efforts – including school personnel responsible for student safety. FirstNet®, Built with AT&T aims to do so with a nationwide wireless communications platform and ecosystem. In addition to first responders, that platform supports school business […]
The Danger Zone risk to students Students are most at risk not when they are riding the bus to school, but when they are loading and off-loading the bus. One-third of students who died in school transportation related crashes between 2006 and 2015, were killed while they were approaching or leaving the bus. This area […]
Stop-arm violations are an incredibly critical issue for the school bus industry. We have all heard the troubling stories associated with cars not stopping for school buses with stop arms extended. Pupil transportation professionals know the situation is dire, yet it often takes a tragedy to initiate expenditure and awareness discussions between districts, law enforcement, […]
Three Technologies Making School Buses Safer The yellow school bus is one of the more technologically advanced and safest vehicles on the road. Still, in a report on parents’ sentiment around school transportation, 75 perent of parents want a better way of tracking their students during the ride. There is a heightened national focus on […]
CAVEAT LECTOR (Let the reader beware): I write this piece acknowledging I am neither attorney nor a professional journalist. But my experiences in each of those worlds have afforded me certain useful knowledge and insights. That is what I share here. I hope to provoke thoughts on your end, and I also caution you to […]
The National Association for Pupil Transportation and the NAPT Foundation have embarked on a nationwide search for an Executive Director who will succeed Michael (Mike) Martin, who led the organizations for some 27 years, and stepped down to pursue other professional activities especially in collaboration with NAPT. (see May 23 2022 Dispatch). This search for […]
On July 19, 2022, OCR and OSERS jointly released new guidance focused on disciplining students with disabilities. You can find the guidance, factsheet, question and answers document and more here. A few key takeaways from the guidance are as follows—we encourage you to share this with your special education team and lawyers as well. The guidance states: A school’s […]
Zonar, the leader in smart fleet technology, today announced record sales growth of its pupil transportation solutions for the first half of 2022, at STN EXPO Reno. Through a combination of hardware and software offerings, Zonar’s smart fleet mobility solutions provide school districts with real-time, actionable data to increase school bus safety, efficiency, and accountability. […]
Dubuque Community Schools provides transportation for one of the largest districts in Iowa. Of the 6,000 students riding 86 buses, about one third of the district’s routes accommodate special needs students, giving Dubuque Community Schools one of the highest concentrations of special needs services in the state. With so many moving parts, day in and […]
There are many compelling reasons to electrify your fleet. Potential riches from vehicle-to-grid technology isn’t one of them – yet It’s generally accepted that emotion plays a significant role in many consumer purchases. We’ve all experienced “new-car fever,” for example, or spent hundreds of unbudgeted dollars to needlessly update to the latest version of our […]