EDITOR’S TAKE
Big Questions Vexing Student Transporters
Written by Ryan Gray |
ryan@stnonline.com A
s I prepared to leave for North Carolina to attend STN EXPO East this month, I began to look forward to July and beyond. STN EXPO West in Reno, Nevada, will not be short on hot
topics. Neither will TSD Conference in November. Devel- opments in Washington, D.C, have made sure of that. Plenty of issues impact student transportation without bringing politics into the conversation. Though School Transportation News continuously strives for impartiality, there no escape from politics. They affect everything from property taxes that fund transportation to who the district administration selects as the next department leader. That said, here are but a few of the biggest questions student transporters are grappling with:
What will be the impact of tariffs? One reader accused STN of being political for emailing
a question last month about anticipated cost increases tied to tariffs. Granted, tariffs are nothing new, but the pace and potential increases are shocking to many. I think that’s precisely the point of President Donald Trump’s negotiation tactics. The newsworthiness rests in school districts finalizing their budget requests for next school year. Transportation directors are analyzing what new school buses or other related products might cost next year or the year after that. The industry and larger society were also just recent- ly hit by the effects of COVID-19-worsened supply chain disruptions and resulting inflation.
What is next for the EPA Clean School Bus Program? At this report, funding halted amid a federal review. The
grantee portal was down, despite assurances that CSBP funding would continue. Partially as a result, diesel ap- pears to be making a “comeback.” We all know that diesel will be available and necessary for years to come but, at least last year at this point, though the engines would be increasingly harder to come by, especially in the dozen states that recognize the California Air Resources Board Advanced Clean Trucks regulation. But now, with CARB foregoing additional federal waivers to fully enforce ACT, I sense that previous outlook on diesel is shifting. A panel being planned for STN EXPO West with partic-
ipating school bus and engine manufacturers hopes to shed as much light as possible on this and other topics.
12 School Transportation News • MARCH 2025
Will Immigration Customs Enforcement agents conduct raids at school bus stops? As reported by STN and media outlets nationwide, school districts are providing more guidance and train- ing to educators, transportation professionals, students and parents about how to respond. This is amid President Trump’s executive order to in-
crease vetting at the borders and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s subsequent directive to remove the exclusion of “sensitive areas” such as schools, hospitals and homeless shelters from immigration enforcement activities. There had been no reports of such activities at this writing. While ICE officials have reportedly said there are no immediate plans to raid schools and that any enforcement activities would target violent crimi- nals, the potential remains. What might be the impact on student ridership as a result?
What will become of the U.S. Department of Education, its programs and related funding? Presumptive (at press time) Education Secretary Linda
McMahon has made no secret her job is to dismantle the department. I find it more interesting that two of her deputies have long, respected careers in state-level pub- lic education, where the Trump administration wants program control to reside. How exactly would that be accomplished? It would take an act of Congress to dismantle the DOE
as well as federal laws like the the Individuals with Dis- abilities Education Act. McMahon said during her Senate confirmation hearing that IDEA could move to Health and Human Services. The Office of Civil Rights, mean- while, could move to the Department of Justice.
These questions and more will be top of mind this
month and beyond. They are all legitimate, no matter party affiliations. But the industry must not focus on red or blue but yellow. Business must still be conducted with the priority being the children transported and doing everything possible to keep services for them running as safely, efficiently and effectively as possible. ●
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 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
