down with them. A child in a wheelchair told me once that sometimes adults talked to her like a 2-year-old, and she was 11.” Cassell has developed a training pro-


gram for bus drivers titled “Transporting Students with Special Needs” to fill a void. Cassell says the NAPT-endorsed program covers a spectrum of topics central to driver preparation. Courses include leg- islation,


transportation challenges and


types of special needs, among others. “Transporting children with special


needs is a gray area,” Cassell says. “Each state has different ways of doing things. Tere are federal laws on what you should do, but they do not tell you how to do it.” Not all students with special needs have


severe behavioral or physical challenges. School districts have met IDEA standards for years by co-mingling special needs students with the general student popula- tion on buses. Educators say parents and students prefer this because they want to be treated like everyone else.


“Parents


also like (co-mingling) be-


cause it enables siblings to ride the same bus,” says Phoenix Madison School Dis- trict Transportation Supervisor Armando Cuellar. “Tey like anything that helps their child become more independent.” Homeless students are not techni-


cally classified as special needs, but they do qualify for special consideration under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, and bus drivers are given homeless sensitivity training to avoid the added embarrassment a child might suffer from being economically disadvan- taged. Cuellar said most school districts are responding favorably to the needs of homeless


students even though many


cannot afford formal sensitivity training. “McKinney-Vento is an unfunded


mandate,” Cuellar says. “If a student is homeless, in foster care or any kind of transitional housing we must make sure they attend their original schools without any disruptions. We talk to our bus drivers


and they know there are things you just don’t say to a homeless child. But this is not official training.” Transportation officials also know that


if special needs or homeless children are made conspicuous in any way it could lead to verbal abuse and physical bully- ing. Tey say that is why it is important that the bus driver is a role model for ev- eryone onboard. “We provide all of our drivers with sen-


sitivity training because all our routes are integrated,” says Nicole Portee, executive director of transportation for Denver Public Schools. “We coordinate with our homeless liaison to determine what is needed. We try to pick them up at the same location each day for safety. We pick up those students first and drop them off last to make sure they are not embar- rassed. We have a homeless staff that deals with those situations. We want to provide the least-restrictive environment possible for all of our students.” ■


Students with special needs require a special kind of driver.


Prepare your drivers with the newest and most comprehensive curriculum available. Subjects:


1. Legislation Overview


2. Transportation Challenges


3. Types of Special Needs


4. Lifts & Mobility Devices


5. Securement 6. Emergency Evacuations


7. Balancing Needs Only $1795.00


1-866-275-7272 www.schoolbussafetyco.com


“Nothing like this has ever been available – this course addresses every issue involving the safe transportation students with special needs.” – Jeff Cassell, President School Bus Safety Company


34 School Transportation News Magazine February 2011


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