“Wiggle room” policies set by school boards tend to provide neither guidance nor support for school transporters. Sometimes the “gray area” approach is political; sometimes it’s ignorance about the real problems transporters face. But you can help pave the road to awareness.

An article in the July 2007 issue of Legal Routes offers innovative ideas to help educate boards of education, superintendents, school administrators and parents about what transporters do for students — and what you need from them to help you do it.

As the new school year approaches, Legal Routes Editor Peggy Burns offers specific suggestions on getting officials involved and helping them recognize the importance of coordinating policy-making efforts by boards, superintendents and transporters. Burns even offers a model letter transporters can use to encourage a partnership in policy development.

“You can make allies and change behavior,” Burns said. “You are the ones who can help folks know, too, about the role that fair and consistent enforcement of transportation policies plays in getting students to school safely and ready to learn.”

For a free reprint of the article, including a copy of the model letter, e-mail myroadmap@legalroutes.com.

Legal Routes is a bimonthly report on pupil transportation law and compliance. Annual subscriptions to the report ($122) include a Personal Access Key to Legal Routes plus a bonus that gives subscribers online access to every article ever published in the report; a key word index to articles; and a table of cases referenced.