Special Needs Transportation

Explore best practices for safely and effectively transporting students with disabilities and special transportation needs. We cover accessibility, wheelchair securement, equipment, training, student behavior, regulations, and specialized transportation services.

Kelli Goterba, the 2026 Special-Needs Driver of the Year, stands with her arms crossed in front of a Trumbull County Board of Developmental Disabilities school bus.

News

Kelli Goterba Named 2026 Special-Needs School Bus Driver of the Year

Through building trust with students and strengthening her transportation team, Goterba exemplifies the impact special-needs drivers can make.

Digital Cover Features

The Most Common Wheelchair Securement Mistakes on School Buses (and How to Fix Them)

A wheelchair user operates a school bus wheelchair lift equipped with BraunAbility’s LiftSentinel barrier system as another person stands nearby with a handheld control.

News

BraunAbility Introduces New Safety Barrier for Wheelchair Lifts

A close up image of a hand holding a phone with HopSkipDrive's platform and CareDriver information on the screen.

News

HopSkipDrive Launches New Safety, Driver Consistency Features for 2026-27 School Year

Statistics•January 2, 2015

Special-Needs Survey 2015

This survey is sent to managers and supervisors at school district transportation departments and bus companies. Survey topics covered include the proportion of special-needs students transported by respondents, challenges in busing these students, training topics and resources for training, and mainstreaming of special-needs students.

News•by Staff•December 31, 2014

Special-needs kindergartner left alone on bus for 7 hours

A driver for North Thurston School District in Lacey, Washington, resigned last month after admitting to not completing a check of his bus. The 6-year-old boy was supposed to be dropped off at a day care center, but was found later that evening asleep on the bus.

News•by Staff•December 22, 2014

Matt Scheuler named president of Collins Bus Corp.

Scheuler, previously VP of sales and marketing, has risen through the ranks since joining the Type A school bus manufacturer in 2001.

News•by Staff•December 20, 2014

Kent Tyler takes on VP role at Allied Specialty Vehicles

ASV, the parent company of Collins Bus, promotes Tyler to vice president of sales and marketing in North America for all product lines.

News•by Staff•December 2, 2014

Bus monitor accused of taping student’s mouth shut

The autistic student’s brother said the monitor, who worked for the Austin (Texas) Independent School District, did it because “he repeats a lot of stuff.” District police are investigating the alleged incident.

News•by Staff•December 2, 2014

NHTSA investigates Graco’s handling of child seat recall

The agency aims to determine whether Graco failed to report a safety defect in a timely manner. The manufacturer eventually recalled more than 6 million defective car seats.

News•by Staff•December 1, 2014

Idaho special-needs bus set on fire

The wheelchair-accessible bus, which was burned around 5 a.m. on Nov. 8, belongs to Horseshoe Bend School District. The bus is a total loss and the case is being treated as arson.

News•by Staff•December 1, 2014

Driver admits leaving special-needs kids on bus in summer heat

Kimberly Moumblow, a school bus driver for Vernon (N.J.) Township School District, pleads guilty to cruelty and neglect of a child for leaving two students, ages 7 and 9, alone on a parked bus in July for about 45 minutes. Sentencing is anticipated for Jan. 16.

News•by Staff•November 12, 2014

New Micro Bird Type A bus turns heads at trade show

According to Blue Bird, the T-Series bus body’s aerodynamic features aid in increasing fuel economy by about 20%.

News•by Staff•November 11, 2014

Blue Bird to unveil new Type A bus, new technology

Along with the new Micro Bird T-Series bus, Blue Bird will debut an electronic stability control system and a new Propane Vision warranty.

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