Page 41 - AASBO EDGE Summer 2023 WEB

TRANSPORTATION

BY DON HARRIS
It Takes a Special Team to Transport Special Needs Kids

Sandy Brown

Getting special needs students to and from school a mobility need, allergy, asthma, hearing or vision
safely on a specially equipped bus takes a qualified and behavioral, Brown explained. “Some of these
and caring transportation crew. needs will require an attendant on the bus and
possibly a nurse,” she said. “A student might be
Sandy Brown, Operations Director at Stanfield physically aggressive who kicks or spits or is self
Elementary School District # 24, knows what injurious. It’s best to have these discussions and a
she’s talking about when it comes to a specialized plan for handling these types of situations before the
responsibility for school transportation staff. At students rides.”
a breakout session geared toward transportation
officials at the AASBO Spring Conference, Many of the students have equipment they bring
Brown, who has 33 years of experience in school onto the buses, such as a backpack with personal
transportation, told how to care for special needs or medical needs, a walker, a wheelchair, or even
students while transporting them from home to oxygen. The transportation staff needs to know
school and back again. the type of wheelchair and how they can secure it
for transit. Students also bring feeding machines,
She stressed the importance of transportation suction machines, crutches and many other pieces
officials establishing a good relationship with your of equipment on the school bus.
district’s Special Needs Director as it relates to
Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. “In many cases it is best to have a chance for the
“Transportation does not need to be at every IEP driver and attendant to meet the student and the
family before the students starts riding,” Brown
“Our job is to keep those said. “For a lot of students it is scary to ride the bus,

kids safe.” and to leave their home with strangers. When the
student has the opportunity to meet the team on the
bus while the parent or teacher is present, it really
meeting,” she said. “Consider the order of the helps.”
meeting. Could you possibly have the transportation
piece first – or maybe last? All of the information Brown emphasized repeatedly: “Our job is to keep
that is discussed at IEP meetings does not affect those kids safe.”
transportation. Most of the focus is on the students’
education needs.” She noted that drivers have a lot to manage,
sometimes with different drop-offs on different
Transportation staff should attend meetings to days. The transportation request is a very important
discuss medical or behavioral needs that would document.
have to be addressed during transportation, such as
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