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

News•by Staff•December 2, 2011

Ohio pupil transporter completes NAPT special-needs training

Dona Marie Beauchea of FirstGroup America in Cincinnati is the 13th person in the nation 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 different settings, and it is supplemented by two courses from the NAPT Professional Development Series Program.

News•by Staff•December 2, 2011

Facts on charter schools for special-needs students

A new guide from the National Dissemination Center for Children With Disabilities answers 10 common questions about charter schools, including whether they are responsible for providing transportation. The document includes links to state-specific resources.

Articles•November 10, 2011

Focused on occupant safety

Ricon Corp.’s K and S Series wheelchair lifts feature an interlocked restraint belt, as well as barriers to prevent excessive rolling on the platform. The company offers training for operators and technicians.

News•by Staff•November 8, 2011

Linda Bluth partners with School Bus Safety Co.

Bluth, who just finished her term as president of the National Association for Pupil Transportation, is now available to train drivers and trainers on School Bus Safety Co.’s courses.

Articles•November 7, 2011

Specific special-needs evacuations: TBI and near drowning

Students who have suffered a traumatic brain injury or near drowning will require close physical safeguards and assistance in a bus evacuation. The commotion could set off a seizure.

News•by Staff•November 7, 2011

Va. DOE reviews district’s special-needs training procedures

The announcement comes after a $20 million suit was filed against the Bedford County school system over alleged beatings transportation aides administered to a severely autistic student in 2009. The incident was reportedly captured on the bus’ surveillance camera.

News•by Staff•November 7, 2011

Wheelchair use study discussed at NAPT Summit

Mary Ellen Buning of the University of Louisville in Kentucky spoke to attendees about the preliminary findings and data from a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center study on wheelchair use and safety in school transportation. Bus drivers and attendants were surveyed and asked questions related to training, wheelchair securement and lap-shoulder restraints, among other topics.

News•by Staff•November 7, 2011

12th person completes NAPT special-needs training

Tami Lynn Cooper is an employee of Student Transportation of America in Goleta, Calif. The NAPT Special Needs Training Program consists of six special-needs courses in a variety of different settings, including a school bus roadeo and a trade show, and it is supplemented by two courses from the NAPT Professional Development Series Program.

News•by Staff•November 7, 2011

Ariz. driver named Special Needs Driver of the Year

Cyndi Masters of Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District No. 6 receives the honor at the annual Arizona Association for Pupil Transportation Fall Conference last month. Masters, who is the fourth district driver to receive the honor in 15 years, gives her winnings to the district's transportation department for a special fund.

News•by Staff•October 31, 2011

REMINDER: <I>SBF</i> to spotlight school bus heroes

Our "Heroes in School Transportation" feature will again profile people in the industry who have saved a life or performed some other heroic act. The deadline for nominations is this Friday, Nov. 4.

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