Transporting Students with Disabilities Conference focuses on violence prediction and prevention, which comes through understanding students' needs, treating them with respect and enforcing rules.

In Part 1 of a three-part series, tips on effective restraint of children who need head/trunk support.

Too often, new school bus drivers and attendants are assigned the task of transporting special-education students without adequate training.

As a new bus driver, I quickly learn that students with behavior problems can be very interesting to work with, indeed. A couple of decades later, I am a supervisor, but still heavily involved in serving students with special needs.

Students who use mobility aids such as wheelchairs represent only a small fraction of the approximately 23.5 million children who ride school buses to and from school each day. As such, they could be easily overlooked when it comes to occupant safety.

With crash-tested securement points, the transport wheelchair will significantly improve passenger safety. Meanwhile, retractable securement systems already are having a positive impact.

Although there are exceptions, industry experts say specific lift procedures need to be closely followed. Driver and attendant training is critical, they add.

Extra care needs to be given to school loading-zone safety when buses for children with special-needs are involved, especially when the children are transported in wheelchairs.

School bus operators need to consider the 'benefits' of transporting children with disabilities.

California officials have often been asked questions regarding school transportation to which there were no concrete answers and no “best practices” manual to which they could refer.

If the school bus is indeed an extension of the classroom, then a change in education is evidenced by the passengers who are being transported today.

School districts are often hesitant to expand first aid training because of liability and confidentiality concerns.

These tips on training, equipment, communication, information and program monitoring can improve the safety and efficiency of your operation.

Behavior problems exhibited by students with disabilities are not uncommon on the school bus.

Emergency evacuations require staff to make vital decisions under tremendous pressure. Make sure they're properly prepared.

How we speak to and about the students with disabilities who ride school buses can influence their perception of themselves and others' perceptions of them.

One of the many challenges of transporting students with disabilities is properly spec'ing the school bus, which must be equipped to meet the varying demands of disabled children.

The questions are drawn from the competency examination included in the "Train the Trainers Text - Transporting Individuals With Disabilities," written by Dr. Robert J. Cross and published by the National School Transportation Academy.

The heat-sensitive are prone to heat exhaustion or heat prostration during their bus ride. Cold-sensitive students require steady temperature levels high enough for their safety, health and comfort.

Injuries to students and staff during wheelchair lift use are probably less rare than you think. Although school bus operators have varying wheelchair lift procedures, there are some basic safety tips that can be shared with all drivers and aides.