Virginia School District Holds School Bus Rodeo Skills Competition

By: Merari Acevedo

4 April 2025 at 20:21

Albemarle County Public Schools (ACPS) held a bus roadeo for its drivers to show off their skills in school transportation, reported 29 News.

Albermarle County Public Schools Bus During Roadeo.

According to the news report, the district’s bus drivers took on timed challenges March 28 and demonstrated their skills in backing up, parking and navigating tight spaces.

ACPS Bus Driver Jan Kendrick told local news reporters that the roadeo gives the drivers a chance to get together and show what they can do. More than just a roadeo, bus drivers view it as training and a chance for friendly competition.

Kendrick said competing in the roadeo also helps them every day when driving students to and from school. The district serves over 14,000 students from elementary to high school.

Albermarle County Public Schools Bus Roadeo Award.

“A bus driver has more to do in that one seat than any other driver out there,” said Kendrick via the article.

The Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs Conference held in Frisco, Texas each November, also features a school bus roadeo, allowing a driver and monitor team to compete on a national level.

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3-Year Prison Sentence for School Bus Aide Convicted in Choking Death

School Transportation News

By: Taylor Ekbatani

17 March 2025 at 22:09

Amanda Davila was sentenced to three years in prison for the death of 6-year-old Fajr Williams, who fatally choked on a Somerset County, New Jersey school bus while wearing an improperly secured safety harness.

Davila faced up to 20 years in prison for the charges of aggravated and reckless manslaughter. Instead, a jury found her guilty of child endangerment on Jan. 13. On March 7, a judge sentenced her to three years in prison.

Davila, who was 27 at the time of the Julu 17, 2023 incident, testified in her own defense during the trial and claimed she was at fault but only partially. The defense argued that a family member of Williams improperly buckled her into her wheelchair that day. Davila also reportedly testified during the trial that she wasn’t trained properly on wheelchair securement and made a mistake. However, the school bus contractor she worked for provided monthly training sessions.

Davila’s lawyer said she shared responsibility with the family, who should have ensured the young girl was secured properly. Davila was the assigned bus monitor to Williams, who had Emanuel syndrome, was non-verbal and in a wheelchair. She was being transported to an extended school year program at Claremont Elementary School in Franklin Park New Jersey.

As School Transportation News reported at the time, Williams was strangled by her wheelchair’s harness on the bus ride. The student reportedly slumped forward in her wheelchair after a series of bumps. She was wearing a 4-point harness that secured her to the wheelchair, but ultimately became too tight around her neck, blocking her airway.

Video from the bus ride showed Davila seated in front of Williams, on her cellphone and wearing earbuds, a violation of policies and procedures.

The case was also discussed during the 2023 Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs Conference.

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Setting Realistic Expectations for School Bus Drivers of Students with Special Needs

School Transportation News

By: Eric Woolson

7 February 2025 at 16:00

In a workshop titled Fit for Duty: Setting Realistic Expectations for School Bus Drivers of Students with Special Needs, industry veterans explored the challenges and nuances of finding and retaining drivers equipped to meet the needs of students with disabilities during the Transporting Students with Disabilities (TSD) and Special Needs Conference in November.

The session featured Alexandra Robinson, a 34-year education veteran who has served as a special education teacher and executive director of the Office of Pupil Transportation in New York City; David Johnson, Iowa Association for Pupil Transportation executive director; William Tousley, a Farmington, Michigan Public Schools bus driver trainer; and Lorena Valenzi, head bus driver trainer from the Shenendehowa Central School District in New York.

Panelists began with the premise that the correct fit for a driver for students with disabilities or special needs is “more than just a good hire” in an era when a shortage of drivers can easily lead to a quantity-vs.-quality tug of war.

Tousley, who joked that after 48 years in the transportation business he is “starting to like it,” said despite perpetual driver shortages, hiring practices must center around drivers who are best qualified to safely transport children with special needs. “What really matters is how we take care of the kids,” he said.

Others also acknowledged the difficulties of balancing the immediate need for quantity with the critical need for quality in hiring. As Tousley noted, “It’s harder to get rid of people than to hire them,” making the initial selection process crucial. Valenzi described how her district’s office staff, including mechanics, often step in to cover routes, raising concerns about operational decision-making when key personnel are behind the wheel.

Robinson stressed the importance of hiring drivers who are not only physically fit but emotionally and mentally prepared for the unique challenges of transporting students with special needs. “We must separate the behavior from the passenger,” she explained, emphasizing that the role requires patience, adaptability and empathy.

Robinson noted that children’s behaviors and attitudes have changed over the years, which necessitates changes in driver qualifications and traits. “Have kids stayed the same? They have not,” she said, highlighting the need for flexible training tailored to various applicant backgrounds, whether they come from military, factory or corporate settings.

Training emerged as a central theme, particularly for emergency preparedness in the wake of a 2017 Riverside (Iowa) School District tragedy in which a driver was physically unable to escape a bus fire that also claimed a student’s life.

Panelists underscored the importance of agility tests, routine camera reviews and open communication with parents and school staff. “We can’t guarantee the safety of children in emergencies unless we practice with them,” said Robinson. She added that cameras should be celebrated as tools to ensure safety and accountability.

Tousley reflected on the trust placed in drivers: “In what other industry can you pull up in a big vehicle, and they’ll give you, their kids?”

Panelists stressed the critical role drivers play in fostering community trust and bridging the gap between transportation and education.

Finding the right fit for drivers goes beyond hiring. Robinson urged districts to reassess existing staff and address those whose attitudes or inflexibility hinder the team. “If you hesitate to say you want this person driving a child, they shouldn’t be there,” she asserted.

The session also reinforced the concept that school transportation is an extension of the classroom. “We’re here to make a difference in kids’ lives,” Tousley said. From greeting students warmly to understanding their daily struggles, drivers can positively impact children’s school experiences.

Panelists agreed that by fostering patience, flexibility and strong communication, transportation departments can better support students with special needs while maintaining a high standard of service even in the face of persistent driver shortages.

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Celebrate Accomplishments When Transporting Students with Disabilities

School Transportation News

By: Pete Meslin

3 February 2025 at 19:51

I was inspired by the reaction of attendees at the recent TSD Conference to the concept of celebrating student success during transportation. When this idea was presented in November in Frisco, Texas, where I moderated two panel discussions, it seemed like
virtually everyone was writing it down. Not that celebrating is such a novel idea, but the fact it was being noted by so many attendees, to remember when they got back to work, meant this idea merits at the least more discussion. I decided to flesh it out a little and hopefully show more people why we should be doing it.

We all know transportation is an essential service for many students with special needs. We also know that we should be taking every opportunity to educate students. We certainly want to teach students how to wait for the school bus. We also want to teach them how to enter and exit the school bus, and, perhaps most importantly, how to ride the school bus. Doing all of these by the age of 18 or 22 is a priority, to meet the call of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

These skills need to be passed on to all students at every opportunity. It is essential that these competences are taught and reinforced often.

We will not succeed in every case, but if we start early enough and stick with it, most students will achieve some success, and more than a few will master skills. Students show safer behavior as they become educated. We should celebrate all of them. They are all successes and so are we for our role in their development.

Here’s where the value of celebrating starts to multiply. Shouldn’t the teachers and aides in the classroom celebrate the students’ successes? Yes, because they are responsible for similar advances. They probably have taught the students those same skills in a different setting. They may not have taught the student to show the driver the bus pass, but they could have taught them how to present their student ID to the librarian. They might not
have shown the student how to stand in line waiting to get on the bus, but they probably showed the student how to wait in line to come into the classroom from recess.

Parents also need to take the time to celebrate their student’s success. Most of their communication with the school site is negative. “I only hear from the office when there is a behavioral problem involving my student,” is a complaint we often hear. That alone justifies inviting them to celebrate. But there are so many more reasons.

Here are a few:
• They can see the students demonstrate their progress. We can take the parent and student out to the bus, so the student can demonstrate what they have learned.
• We can also use the opportunity to answer other questions that the parent(s) might have.
• They can see what we’re going to teach next and prepare their students.
• They can come to understand that they are not alone, that struggles they’ve had are shared by others.
• They might be able to gain the confidence that, just maybe, their children will be able to safely ride the public bus when they progress into the world without our care.

The principal, special education staff, and other site employees also need to share in the success. They all played a role in the success. Why not celebrate? The final group that must be invited consists of school bus drivers and transportation staff. How often do we
celebrate them for what they do? We owe them this celebration. In particular, we should be praising our drivers and aides for their ability to educate. That is, the drivers and aides actually teach skills that children will use for life. The drivers do all this for every student without asking much from us. If you can, pay them the extra hour or two the celebration requires, and celebrate them as educators.

These celebrations don’t have to take long, but they are essential. Invite the special education staff, the site staff, district administrators, and others. Maybe food services
can chip in some nutritious snacks (at a huge discount we hope.) You might be surprised at who shows up and just how much they appreciate it. We’re celebrating students’ success but we’re also celebrating everyone’s role in the students’ achievements. What could be better?

Editor’s Note: As reprinted in the January 2025 issue of School Transportation News.

Pete Meslin is a TSD Conference advisor and a retired director of transportation for Newport-Mesa Unified School District in California. He authored the “Bus in the Classroom” program to teach students with disabilities how to safely prepare for and ride school buses.

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