New Jersey Launches Special-Needs Transportation Training
All school bus drivers and aides in the state have to go through the training program, which was mandated by a bill passed last year.
All school bus drivers and aides in New Jersey have to go through a new special-needs training program, which was mandated by a bill passed last year.
TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Department of Education (DOE) has developed a transportation training program on how to interact with special-needs students.
The training was mandated by a bill passed last year. As of the program’s launch on Tuesday (Sept. 27), all existing school bus drivers and aides in the state have to go through the training within 180 days. New drivers and aides need to do the training before transporting students.
The training is delivered in a 28-minute video, available on the New Jersey DOE website, that gives an overview of specific disabilities and covers issues like behavior management, medical emergencies, communication devices for nonverbal students, and securement systems.
After watching the video, drivers and aides enter their information to get a certificate of completion.
The bill that was passed last year also required the state DOE to develop a student information card for school bus drivers and aides, to be completed by parents of students with individualized education programs. The template for that card is available below the video on the DOE web page, along with other resources.
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