Legal guide to special-needs transportation

How do you know when a decision you’ve made about transporting a student with special needs is legally defensible? And since, so often, you’re charged with implementing a decision made by an IEP team with little direction or information, what are your best approaches to a win-win solution that is safe and appropriate for the student, and avoids the distraction and cost of prolonged parent, state agency and court challenges?

There is support in a new book by Peggy A. Burns, Esq., and Lisa J. Hudson, titled Defensible Decisions about Transporting Students with Special Needs: Lessons Learned from Legal Disputes. The goals of the book, which was released by Education Compliance Group Inc., include preventing legal disputes and minimizing risks. Readers will see how safety, compliance and customer service can be reconciled when transporting students with special needs.

With nearly 350 pages and 16 chapters, Defensible Decisions can be a valuable guide for school district transportation professionals, bus contractors, special educators, and school and district administrators. This look back at key cases that will define the road ahead for special-needs transportation supports individualized decision-making, strategic planning and implementation, and effective training programs. The book includes:

•  Tips, strategies and methods to put in practice.
• An overview of each topic to provide a snapshot of the issues, a basic understanding of the legal framework and a fast look at the importance of the topic.
• Case summaries and rulings to give readers quick insights into the cases and to choose key issues for focus and further detail.
• Case details to serve as comparisons to readers’ own dilemmas, motivation of creative strategies for achieving compliance and true stories on which to base scenarios for training and in-services.

From appropriate method to discipline and behavior to length of ride to student information and transition services — and topics in between — Defensible Decisions focuses on the subjects that reach court dockets and state and federal agency agendas.

For more information and to order, call (888) 604-6141, visit www.educationcompliancegroup.com or e-mail ecginc@qwestoffice.net.