RENO, Nev. — The National Congress on School Transportation (NCST) Steering Committee met in late July to process interim amendments to the National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures (NSTSP) and to plan the 2010 Congress.

The committee took the following significant actions:

It outlined services and arrangements for holding the next Congress at the University of Central Missouri (formerly CMSU) in Warrensburg, Mo., in May 2010. The committee expects to finalize the specific dates and arrangements for the Congress at its next meeting in October.

The committee drafted updates to the Congress’ Manual of Operating Procedures that will be finalized in October. These updates include the following:

• The schedule of activities from 2007 to 2010.

   

• The process adopted by the Steering Committee last year for interim amendments to the NSTSP, including the form for requesting an interpretation or amendment.

   

• Revisions to the organizational chart of committees.

  The committee approved needed technical corrections to the 2005 NSTSP document, based on the recorded actions of the delegates. These items included prohibiting towing of trailers or other vehicles by school buses transporting students and correcting the diagram showing the placement of the white roof and retroreflective markings on school buses. The revised NSTSP was to be posted to www.NCSTOnline.org.

  “I am encouraged that we are building on the efforts we began last year to look at all of the NCST processes and procedures with fresh eyes,” said Pete Baxter, chairman of the Steering Committee. “We are continually improving the way we adopt the specifications and procedures to increase their value to users.”

  The next meeting of the Steering Committee will be Oct. 29 in Grand Rapids, Mich. Interested persons are encouraged to visit www.NCSTOnline.org. For more information, call Baxter at (317) 232-0891, or e-mail him at pbaxter@doe.state.in.us.