“It’s easier to outsource the function for all students,” said
Gregory. “All districts with which I’m familiar take care of all student transportation. In the same way, either you have your own fleet and drivers, or you contract out. Most don’t mix and match.” Gregory stated that the individual needs of each special
education student are taken into consideration when offering transportation. Te overall concern, Gregory be- lieved, which is key to transporting students with special needs successfully, is delivering options that provide the least restrictive environment possible. Transportation department work diligently to never lose sight of each student’s individual uniqueness.
Meslin said that although transportation
training for special needs students has em- phasized safety, as it should, it can be more of a convenient approach for districts that have a number of limitations. Tis is detrimen- tal to developing student skills.
“Tere is a growing recognition that transportation
departments are not preparing our students as well as we could for successful post-secondary lives,” said Meslin. “Educators know that teaching skills early and often is the key to building successful students. Tis is the reason why early intervention is so widely practiced in classrooms.”
INDEPENDENCE-MINDED Meslin is a lifelong advocate for building independence
skills for students with disabilities. However, he pointed out, this belief did have broad implementation. While it was generally agreed upon that treating transportation as any other related service would further the concept of student in- dependence, especially for students with disabilities, no one created and applied a transportation skills curriculum. Tis combination led Meslin to develop the ‘Bus in the Classroom’ program at Newport-Mesa, which helps establish the groundwork for special needs children to ride the variety of transportation methods they will encounter throughout life successfully. “As with any related service, establishing grade and
disability based standards for independence encourages and supports student achievement,” he said. “Tis stan-
Turn to page 58 to read about the innovative “Bus in the Classroom” program developed by Pete Meslin
of Newport-Mesa Unified School District in Costa Mesa, California. It utilizes transportation staff to teach school bus rules and lifelong independence skills to this student population in the environment most conducive to them learning—the special education classroom.
See Us At Booth #526
www.stnonline.com 33
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