The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) has announced plans for its next two annual conferences.

Pat Schofill, NASDPTS’s conference chair and president elect, stated in an email to members on Monday that the organization’s board of directors voted on Thursday to hold its 2021 conference in person from Nov. 5 to 9 in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. All required safety precautions will be followed, Schofill added in the message.

The decision on location was made to make it possible to interact with federal contacts in person.

“Due to restrictions on out-of-town travel for many of our federal partners, our decision to return to the D.C. area will allow more interaction with our most important industry allies,” Schofill stated in the message to members.

The NASDPTS board also decided to hold its 2022 conference in the same location, from October 27 to 31. That is in keeping with its decision, beginning with its 2019 annual conference, Schofill reminded members in the email, to meet in the Washington, D.C. area every three years.

NASDPTS was initially going to hold its 2021 annual conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from Nov. 6 to 10 but changed its plans mostly in response to survey results from state directors on their preferences on how the conference should be held and ability to travel.

NASDPTS will post registration information for both conferences on its website soon, according to the message.

In 2020, due to the pandemic, NASDPTS held all-virtual workshops in place of its in-person annual conference (read coverage of sessions on the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse and special-needs student transporters partnering with educators.)