say this sometimes don’t know how to use CSRS themselves.
Henkensiefken said she was able to obtain funding for her training through her district’s special education department. Te funds were set aside for staff development, and CSRS training applied as it is directly related to providing transportation service for students with disabilities. She also added that her district’s contract with its bus contractor includes the avail- ability of a technician to train drivers. “We have it written into our contract with our bus contractor that they have to have a car seat tech, because we want to make sure that when they’re training their drivers, if they have questions and I’m not available, that they have somebody that can help them. Tat’s been pretty beneficial for us,” she said.
WORKING WITH PARENTS Another challenge transporters may
face in working with CSRS is reluctance
from parents. As Shutrump noted, some parents may initially be wary the idea of their children being “restrained” on the school bus. However, there are things that transporters can do to help to put parents more at ease, which can simply be a matter of word choice. “Some parents will say, ‘Harnesses are for dogs and horses not for people,’” she said. “If a child needs a safety vest, we’re very, very careful never to use the word ‘harness.’” She added that making it clear to parents that a CSRS is for the child’s safety and not just to restrain them can go a long way. “We’re careful to let them know this isn’t just a tie-down for a child. We are using it to keep them safe within the vehicle. Mak- ing sure that the focus is always the safety of the child in terms of the words we use is very important,” she said.
Henkensiefken said having the parents
present for things like a vest fitting can also be beneficial. “If we determine that a student is going
to be in a safety vest, many times what we do in that case is we will go to the class- room, if they’re already attending school, and fit them for the vest. In some cases, I will actually bring a school bus training seat in, and we’ll put the kid in the seat, get them all buckled in, so that the staff, parents and child can all see what’s going to happen before they get in the school bus,” she said. Shutrump added that having parents
go out on a test ride once the appropriate CSRS system has been identified is also another strategy to help ease their minds. “I think test rides are a wonderful way to
educate not only staff but parents and the community about how concerned school bus people are about the safety of children and how concerned we are about getting it right,” she said. l
Read the full 2002 decision on Susavage v. Bucks County Schools Intermediate
Unit No. 22 at
stnonline.com.
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www.ewss.org | 10939B Reed Hartman Hwy. • Cincinnati, OH 45242 See Us At Booth #100 30 School Transportation News • MARCH 2016
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