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•September 12, 2011

Revamping special-needs bus routes leads to promotion

Sonya Smith began as transportation secretary at Calhoun County (Ala.) Schools. After proving her expertise by reworking routes for special-needs students, Smith was hired as the district's first route specialist.

Articles•September 9, 2011

Specific Special Needs Evacuations: Spina Bifida

This condition is a birth defect that involves incomplete development of the spinal cord, often resulting in paralysis of a student's lower extremities. Many with spina bifida will be totally dependent on the bus staff, so a well thought out evacuation plan is critical. Part 4 of this series also covers spinal cord injuries.

News•by Staff•September 9, 2011

Former bus driver receives light sentence for DUI

Christine Rogers is sentenced to 72 hours to three months in prison, 104 hours of community service and fined $1,000 for driving impaired while transporting a special-needs student last year. Rogers’ attorney had asked for leniency in sentencing due to her remorse for the incident and her abstention from any drugs or alcohol since her arrest.

News•by Staff•August 25, 2011

School system receives wheelchair lift-equipped hybrid buses

Rockland Board of Cooperative Educational Services in West Nyack, N.Y., put into service the two vehicles from Collins Bus Corp. last week. The buses were purchased through a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority award funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Clean Cities program.

News•by Staff•August 18, 2011

Vandals pour sugar in bus fuel tanks

The act disables half of a Missouri district's buses on the first day of school. An estimated 2,000 gallons of fuel had to be dumped, totaling at least $7,000.

News•by Staff•August 10, 2011

NAPT Summit to address transportation management, bullying

Those are among the topics that keynote presenters will discuss during the event, according to the tentative agenda, which is now available. Workshops and breakout sessions will cover such issues as working with principals and other building administrators, and distracted driving.

News•by Staff•July 29, 2011

Teens convicted, bus driver charged in special-needs student assault

A 15- and 16-year-old plead guilty and receive 60 days in a juvenile detention center in Lynchburg, Va., and probation for assaulting the student on a school bus. The bus driver is charged with felony child neglect for failing to intervene.

News•by Staff•July 29, 2011

Former bus driver to serve 25 years for molesting student

Richard Evans is sentenced to 25 years and four months in prison for picking up a special-needs student on his bus, pulling into a residential neighborhood and molesting her late last year. The crime was captured on surveillance tape.

News•by Staff•July 29, 2011

District: Student’s fall from bus ‘could have been avoided’

Officials arrive at this conclusion following an investigation of a June incident in which a special-needs student jumped from the rear exit of the moving bus and fell onto a freeway. A district spokesman says the driver and aide did not adhere to district policy — the aide, for instance, was sitting at the front of the bus instead of in the middle to monitor students.

Articles•July 29, 2011

Specific Special-Needs Evacuations: SMA

Part 3 of this series focuses on spinal muscular atrophy, which is a group of inherited diseases that cause progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. Knowing how to carry passengers with this condition on an evacuation device and including a nurse in training drills will help to ensure their safety.

Prev Next