Training, Training & More Training
Laura Greene-Halley, the senior
director of student services at First Student, said every driver and attendant who transports students in wheelchairs or CSRS completes comprehensive classroom and hands- on training consisting of:
Equipment inspection: Lift/ramp
operation, WTORS components and identifying appropriate securement points on the mobility device. Loading/unloading procedures:
Boarding with or without an atten- dant, safe operation of the lift or ramp, and transferring a student from their mobility device to a bus seat when appropriate. Securement techniques: Correct
placement of securement straps, proper lap/shoulder belt angles and securing a wide range of mobility devices including WC-19 compliant, stroller-style, tilt-in-space, and powered wheelchairs. Safety and ergonomics: Protecting themselves from push, pull and twist injuries, recognizing common distrac- tions and refocusing when needed, and additional evacuation considerations. Hands-on practice: Each driver and
attendant must demonstrate proficien- cy in loading, securing and unloading before transporting students inde- pendently.
CSRS and wheelchair securement
in non-school bus vehicles such as vans and sedans is another layer of
safety districts need to consider. Read what experts have to say at
stnonline.com/go/od.
40 School Transportation News • JANUARY 2026
“Because people don’t want to get in trouble,” he said, adding his piece of advice is being open to driver feed- back. “Create a culture where drivers can say, ‘Hey, I have a new device, or someone changed a chair—even if you’re part of the IEP meeting—I’m struggling to figure out whether I’m doing it correctly.’ Having that culture within the transportation department that someone’s willing to do that. You don’t want to end up in that situation where someone’s just crossing their fingers.” He said it’s important to empower drivers to know the
securement principles and to speak up when they can’t be achieved. “That level of communication when you run into challenges is really important,” he said. “It’s normal that you might run into chairs where you have trouble meeting these principles. It doesn’t mean you’re incompetent. It means you know a lot about the securement process.” Cassidy Miller, director of transportation for Cash-
mere School District in Washington and a certified child passenger safety technician, said there also needs to be a conversation about if the child should be transferred from the wheelchair into a school bus seat. Some students, she said, are capable whereas other stu-
dents have higher physical needs and require specialized restraint in their wheelchair. She advised paying attention to state laws and what they say on transporting students. For instance, Wash- ington state requires children to be 4 feet, 9-inches tall to ride to ride legally without a CSRS in passenger vehicles. Miller said Cashmere transports students in 10-passenger vans, and she added a piece of tape at 4-feet, 9 inches so that students can walk up, stand at the line and determine if they must ride in a booster or not. She said it removes having to record student’s height data and simplifies the loading process.
Addressing WC Securement Miller, a 2024 STN Rising Superstar, said as of Novem- ber Cashmere School District transported one student in a wheelchair. She explained the child is on a special educa- tion route and the driver has been trained on the restraints in the bus as well as specific elements of the wheelchair the child is transported in. Miller noted that the training was prior to her arrival, but included securement points. The decision was made to not use a seatbelt since the student weighs under 50 pounds and her wheelchair provides a five-point harness system similar to that of a car seat. While transferring a wheelchair-bound student to a CSRS in a school bus is the safest option, “it’s [also] looking at safe or safest and good, better, best, and really, what are the capabilities of the parents and the school team to transfer,” Miller explained. “The risk of injury [of the student] or issues when
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