INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS
New Rhode Island Law Allows School Bus Drivers, Monitors to Administer
Epi-Pens Gov. Lincoln Chaffee signed a bill into effect in May that requires
school bus drivers and monitors to administer Epi pens to students who go into anaphylactic shock during the school commute. Parents and/or guardians can now “expressly authorize” school bus
drivers or other transportation or district staff to administer the epinephrine auto-injector shots in the event of an emergency. Te law also requires school bus drivers and monitors to be trained in administering the Epi pens, which are to be “kept in a conspicuous place, readily available and that their proper use is made known to school personnel.” A provision exempts school bus drivers and monitors as well as teachers, school health administrators or any other district person-
nel from being held liable for any acts of omission or ordinary negligence in administering the drug. Tis group includes school bus contractors. However, school personnel may be held liable in cases of gross negligence or “willful or wanton conduct.”
Pa. Student Transporters Oppose Plan to Block-Grant Bus Funding In response to Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed education cuts,
the Pennsylvania School Bus Association called attention to what the loss of public school funding might mean for student transportation in the Keystone State. PSBA officials stated that his proposal to replace the current funding formula with a new Student Achievement Education Block Grant would destabilize the established school bus system. Te association said the new block grant for school bus service does not factor in the rising costs of transportation and fuel. PSBA Executive Director Selina Pittenger stressed that buses are not only the safest way to transport students to school but also
help to reduce both traffic and emissions. Each school bus carries an average of 50 students, keeping about 33 cars off the road. According to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Trans-
portation and Bureau of Highway Safety and Traffic Engineering, there has not been a single student-passenger fatality from a school bus crash in the state since 1993. NHTSA statistics show that students are 50 times more likely to arrive at school safely if they take the bus than if they drive themselves or ride with friends. “Elimination of busing, a move some school districts across
Pennsylvania are already considering, will put our students at risk,” said Pittenger.
TASH Study Cites Negative Impacts of
Seclusion, Restraint in Schools TASH, a nonprofit disability advocate organization, published a study in late May analyz-
ing news reports nationwide that document the negative effects of seclusion and restraint in schools. Last year, the group published results from a study it conducted with 1,300 parents and
caretakers of children with disabilities in 48 states, D.C. and two U.S. territories on seclusion and restraint procedures. In it, 65 percent of respondents claimed their children had been subjected to seclusion, restraint or other “aversive procedures.” Nearly 70 percent of these children were between 6 and 10 years old. TASH supports the “Keeping All Students Safe Act” reintroduced last December by Iowa
Sen. Tom Harkin to limit seclusion and restraint in schools. But the American Association of School Administrators opposes the bill, contending that this type of behavior interven- tion has actually enabled students who have severe emotional disabilities to attend school when, otherwise, they may not be permitted. Te complete TASH report is available at
www.stnonline.com/go/885.
18 School Transportation News Magazine July 2012
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