Autism and child behavior expert Patrick Mulick leads training for student transporters. He returns to the TSD Conference in November.
transportation addendums are sent to her department to inform the bus driver and attendant of a child’s abilities and necessary accommodations, such as one student who was permitted to use a shield as a facial cover. Seating charts were also created to separate students who can’t wear a mask from those who do and create distance between drivers and students. These procedures are designed to promote safety but also
to signal start the student’s educational day, advised Patrick Mulick, associate director of autism and student indepen- dence at Auburn School District in Washington state. He shared that one of the biggest struggles of students, especially those with autism, is moving from one activity to the next. The school bus can ease that anxiety. “The biggest transition they’re going to make in their
day is leaving the comfort of their own home and showing up at school. We need to be thinking about the school bus as an extension of the classroom,” he said. “We need to recognize our transportation staff are educators and have their collaboration in sharing strat- egies of what works and what doesn’t because the same challenges we may have in the classroom may be the same challenge they are having on the bus.” While that doesn’t necessitate every
they’re not wearing a mask yet,” noted Mulick. “Outside of physical health reasons, being able to wear a mask is something we can teach and reinforce with the students. When we set high expectations for disabilities, we pro- vide the time and resources to be able to adapt.” Mulick pointed out school bus drivers have enough on their plates driving commercial vehicles around town and on a very strict schedule, while also supporting posi- tive behavior, ensuring students remain safe on board and at bus stops, and staying positive themselves while wearing PPE and adhering to new safety measures. “There’s only so much that a school bus driver has the
The average percentage of students with special needs who have returned to the school bus.
68%
bus driver needing to sit in on every IEP meeting or be included in all email communications, that interaction can be helpful, Mulick added. “Mask-wearing and social distancing are all new rules,” he said. “I felt in the beginning that kids are not going to want to do this. While students may need an occasional re- minder that their nose is poking out or the mask is coming off, I was amazed how well students have been able to step up and do it. “It’s one thing to learn how to wear a mask, but also
be comfortable around other people wearing masks,” he continued. “So much of what we pick up from each other in terms of our social cues is nonverbal. A lot of that is lit- erally masked now. We’re asking a student with a disability to feel comfortable about the real world around them.” For some students, sensory issues can be a challenge. “I wouldn’t say a student is not wearing a mask, but
44 School Transportation News • JUNE 2021
(According to 105 responses to a School Transportation News survey.)
capacity to do in the moment. I worry about it being too much on them in terms of being the enforcer,” he added, relaying that many districts have protocols in place for families to report a student’s daily health status online. While some students may not
be wearing masks, social distanc- ing, better ventilation, and vaccine availability helps create safe spaces, Mulick shared. Speaking to the importance of a
collaborative IEP process, Laura Beth Blankenship, a physical therapist and child passenger safety tech- nician for Knox County Schools in Knoxville Tennessee, said that even pre-COVID-19 the local transporta- tion department has been part of a team consisting of trained personnel
in transportation safety. It is composed of transportation staff, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists, with nursing and behavior specialists available. “COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of ensur-
ing we are following our processes to keep our students safe and being aware that our students with IEPs require that student-specific approach in the classroom and extending that to the school bus, making sure each of our students are transported appropriately and safely according to their specific needs,” she said. Knox County Schools has 60,000 students attending 90
school sites while utilizing 342 contracted buses. As of late April, the district had 13,500 students attending full-time,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
