SPECIAL REPORT
May, Should, Shall?
In a battle of semantics at the 17th annual National Congress on School Transportation, 48 state delegations voted on updating the National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures, a process that was interrupted by COVID-19
Written by Taylor Ekbatani |
taylor@stnonline.com D
espite not meeting since 2015 due the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Congress on School Transportation in Des Moines, Iowa last month concluded one half day
ahead of schedule. The early finish was noted by steering committee chair Michael LaRocco, state director student transpor- tation services for the Indiana Department of Education, and on-site chair Charlie Hood, a former NASDPTS pres- ident and retired state director for Florida, who attributed the expedited conclusion to the understood importance of the process. As a first-time attendee—like many in the room—the
organized structure of the proceedings was appar- ent. Like a well-oiled machine, each committee took the stage and presented the proposed changes, with delegates agreeing quickly, or putting up a fight on something as seemingly simple as a word choice.
18 School Transportation News • JUNE 2025
Much of the debate occurred over three words: May, Should and Shall. But those are important delineations, I learned. Shall is the most stringent, a legal obligation. May
connotates allowable equipment or processes. Should is a recommendation. I questioned why the wording mat- ters, especially if the book itself is intended to serve as a best-practice resource and not a requirement in many states. It all comes down to legalities. For instance, say a school district doesn’t equip its school buses with crossing arms and a student gets hurt, when a crossing arm could have prevented the injury. The specifications manual could be used in court, and the district would have to defend the decision of not equipping vehicles with the available safety device. Despite no delegates speaking on the crossing gates pro-
posal, it passed in one of the most controversial votes, 34 to 13, changing “may” have to “shall” have.
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