Trends SECURED TRANSPORT WRITTEN BY SEAN GALLAGHER |
SEAN@STNONLINE.COM T
he latest survey from School Transportation News explored the various aspects of transporting special-needs children, including
wheelchair safety, fire suppression tech- nology and the growing rate of students diagnosed with autism. Te survey was sent to more than 7,650
readers who indicated they are either transportation directors or supervisors, of which 120 responded as of Feb. 14. Tey said they regularly transport children with disabilities, and safety is a constant concern. Several respondents addressed securement, commenting that they’ve encountered relatively few problems when securing a child’s wheelchair. Jeffrey Tompson, director of transpor- tation for St. Mary’s County Public Schools in Maryland, reported that nearly 20 per-
cent of his 275 school buses are devoted to transporting 400 special-needs children. Some of those students use wheel- chairs; however, Tompson said that there are no challenges with the tie downs to secure them, adding that “the challenge is when a student does not have a wheelchair that is designed for the student to be transported in.” Biloxi Public Schools in Mississippi transports 100 special-needs students and is currently adapting for WC-19-compliant wheelchair guidelines.
“Te chairs can be bulky and difficult to anchor in both Tomas Built and In- ternational buses,” said Director of Trans- portation Sam Bailey. “Tose two buses use short strips to anchor to. Bluebird buses have four long strips widely apart and suited for WC-19 chairs.”
Schools around the country have also seen a rise in the number of children diagnosed with autism, almost all survey responses confirming this fact (90 percent). Calvert County Public Schools out-
side of Washington, D.C. transports 250 special-needs students on 40 buses. Te students with autism that Director of Transportation Ed Cassidy manages require tackling several logistical concerns, like “training on behavioral and communica- tion strategies for bus staff,” he said, adding that “schools do not communicate enough or update bus staff enough.” Readers also said the numerous news
reports of school buses bursting into flames are overblown. While fire suppression systems are touted as providing valuable time to evacuate students, especially those with special needs, Cassidy said the Calver
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Tyler Technologies is proud to participate annually in the Transporting Students with Disabilities and Preschoolers Conference. More than that, we are proud to empower districts across the U.S. and Canada with technology that helps them provide safe, reliable transportation to every student, regardless of their individual needs.
Talk to our representatives at the conference in booth #110 to learn more, or sign up for our upcoming online presentation where we’ll show you how our software and hardware help our clients address the needs of every student:
tylertech.com/TSD
18 School Transportation News • MARCH 2017
CELEBRATING25YEARS
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