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

Products•January 4, 2012

Oil Eater Original Cleaner/Degreaser

Oil Eater is a water-based, high-powered cleaner that is biodegradable, non-corrosive, non-toxic and non-flammable.

News•by Staff•January 3, 2012

Registration extended for special-needs conference

The standard fees are extended until Feb. 29 for the National Conference on Transporting Students with Disabilities & Preschoolers, to be held March 9-14 in Orlando, Fla. The registration fees will increase on March 1.

Statistics•January 2, 2012

Special-Needs Survey 2012

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.

Statistics•January 2, 2012

Bus, Chassis and Engine Specifications 2012

Includes such information as bus classifications for each offering from the large and small school bus manufacturers, suspension type for chassis and fuel type for available engines.

News•by Staff•December 20, 2011

Petition seeks funding for bus driver distraction study

The petition urges the Obama Administration to fund the proposed Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Center for Truck and Bus Safety study. Data collected from school bus drivers would be analyzed to determine distraction sources and their association with crashes, near-crashes and crash-relevant conflicts.

News•by Staff•December 19, 2011

Collins to build CNG buses

The Type A manufacturer partners with BAF to develop the first Type A school bus with a compressed natural gas fuel system. The option will be available on several Collins models starting in spring 2012.

News•by Staff•December 13, 2011

System notifies parent when child enters or exits bus

ZPass+ from Zonar Systems provides the instant notifications via text message or e-mail, and parents can also access specific student rider information through a password-protected website. Officials say the new technology is especially useful for children walking to and from a bus stop, and for special-needs children.

News•by Staff•December 5, 2011

Transportation officials complete NAPT special-needs training program

Barry R. Sudduth in Virginia, Joy E. Winnie in Massachusetts, David Weissman in South Carolina and Karen Holstein in Texas are the 14th through 17th people, respectively, to complete the association’s Special Needs Transportation Training Program. The program has a core curriculum of six special-needs courses in a variety of settings.

News•by Staff•December 2, 2011

Special-needs driver acts quickly before bus fire

Kay Brown is praised for safely evacuating the students from her bus after she notices smoke coming from the engine compartment. The bus erupts into flames a short time later.

News•by Staff•December 2, 2011

Woman vandalizes buses, goes on joyride

Jillian Tetterton is arrested after she damages seven buses at a North Carolina primary school and then steals one used to transport special-needs students, with plans to take it to California. She faces multiple charges.

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