Stimulus, Solidarity and Site Update

Last week, we reported that the stimulus package provides $13.6 billion for special needs education. In the week ahead, we'll look at the package more closely and discuss how schools and pupil transporters may be able to get their piece of the pie.

Later this week, special needs experts gather in Indianapolis, Ind., for the National Conference on Transporting Students With Disabilities & Preschoolers. The group might take note, in Northern California, a group of parents of children with autism and other special needs have formed their own PTA. The group was founded to help parents work together to draw attention to special needs and the often under-funded mandated special education costs. The group's president and co-founder Susie Christensen stated the group's mission:

"Our mission is to disseminate information and support parents in their quest for educating their children, and let them know they're not alone."

For those looking for education online, we've recently updated the special needs section of our Web site. Inside disabilities definitions, resources, commentaries and more.

How to Become the Captain of a Winning IEP Team

Pupil transporters can save themselves a lot of Tylenol by taking part in the IEP meetings that often dictate how their special needs riders are to be transported. In this presentation [PowerPoint] from the 2008 Florida Association for Pupil Transportation Summer Conference, Alexandra Robinson and Jamie Warrington offer tips on leading IEP teams. Presentation covers IEP requirements, what pupil transporters should bring to meetings and the benefits of participation. Well worth reading, well worth getting in touch with these experts with your questions.

To: Arne Duncan, From: Special Needs

Special needs advocates want U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to take a look at "rolling out long-awaited regulations for educating young children and cracking down on the use of restraints and seclusion as school disciplinary measures," Education Week reports [free subscription required and well worth it].

Rules for infants and toddlers with special needs, No Child Left Behind testing regulation, and "seclusion tactics" for disruptive students are all on the want list. One official, Nancy Reder, deputy executive director for governmental relations for National Association of State Directors of Special Education, thought well of early meetings with Duncan.

“The number-one thing, and Duncan has already done it, is [offer] access ... We really felt that there was no opportunity to be heard by the previous administration."

Special needs transportation does not appear on the wish list as mentioned in the article. But what, if any, issues should be before Duncan?

Highlights of the Week

On the ongoing theme of teaching pupil transporters about their special needs riders, Bright Hub has an interesting rundown on Muscular Dystrophy. The site offers some tips for educators in working on IEPs for students with the conditions, but the lessons could well apply to pupil transporters.

"Teachers need to work closely with therapists to ensure they understand the progress of the condition, and how it impacts on classroom activities, and particularly on safety for the student."

Meanwhile, one California school district is focusing on keeping students in the loop when it comes to their classmates with special needs with a class designed to teach them about their peers.

"I realize that I never thought about that people have so many challenges in their lives." 10-year-old Francesca Ferraro.

A Virginia paper examines the rising use of taxis in school transportation, something we looked at last summer. The service is expensive, but needed given the lack of services available for homeless and special needs students, administrators say.

"These are students who already have a tumultuous life ... So the point of providing taxicabs is to make sure they have as much consistency as possible in terms of where they go to school every day." Amy Carlini, spokeswoman for Alexandria City Public Schools

Special Needs Driver Goes 'Above and Beyond' In Winter Storm

A Cincinnati station tells the story of a special needs school bus driver whose bus was caught in the snow for five hours. Driver Sherry Robinson gets special praise from the station for keeping her cool with five students on board. Robinson described the situation:

"I got two crying. I got a parent calling me concerned. she's worried about her baby. I got a little bitty one, a kindergartner. And then I got a little girl who needs medicine because she has seizures. I got a little boy who wants his mommy and his mommy wants her son, a lot of people calling me wanting to know what's going on."

No surprise, she gets plenty of thanks from commentators on the site. See a video below

Special Needs and the Economy

Recently, we highlighted how pupil transportation could provide "recession-proof" jobs in 2009. A number of contractors say nationwide job loss is helping them with driver recruitment and retention. But before the yet-to-be-passed stimulus package can bolster school and special needs funding, some districts are making cuts, including one Indiana district that recently decided to cut school bus aides. As expected, the news has prompted considerable comment and discussion. In California, it seems some non-classroom employees are expecting budget cuts as well.