LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The National Association of Pupil Transportation announced several winners and its latest inductee to the NAPT Hall of Fame during its annual conference this weekend.

The event in Louisville, Kentucky recognized Keith Henry, a longtime student transportation leader whose career has been marked by service, mentorship and advocacy for the profession, as this year’s solo inductee into the NAPT Hall of Fame. Henry is a past president of NAPT and currently serves as president of the NAPT Foundation. He is also the executive director of the Missouri Association for Pupil Transportation.

Henry started in the student transportation industry in 1994 as director transportation for Windsor School District in Imperial, Missouri following six years of service as an aviation electrician in the U.S. Coast Guard. He moved to Mehlville School District in 1997 as director of transportation and support services and then to Independence School District as director of transportation in 2010. He joined Lee’s Summit R-7 School District as director of transportation in July 2016 and four months later began his two-year term as NAPT president. He retired from Lee’s Summit at the end of June 2021.

NAPT describes its Hall of Fame as the association’s highest individual honor, recognizing professionals whose contributions, influence and leadership have had a lasting impact on both NAPT and the school transportation industry.

“I’m not up here, I don’t think, by accident but by design. And it wasn’t not my design, it was all your design,” Henry said during his acceptance speech Oct. 4. “You all have put so much into me and that’s the why. And my why is simple. I like to help others. I like to serve others. .. I went into the Coast Guard because I wanted to help others. When I got out of the Coast Guard in 1994, I took a temporary job in a transportation department that I didn’t seem to be able to kick. Here I am.”

The 2026 NAPT Distinguished Service Award was presented to Sue Shutrump, recognizing her exemplary leadership, service and “unwavering desire to make things safer for all children on the school bus” over the past 41 years, said nominator, NAPT past-president and NAPT Foundation board member Alexandra Robinson. A retired occupational and physical therapy supervisor for Trumbull County ESC in Ohio, Shutrump is the owner of Sue Shutrump Consulting and serves as co-chair of NAPT’s Special Needs Advisory Committee alongside Robinson. She is a member of the Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs Tenured Faculty and long-time supporter of those who transport students with disabilities and preschoolers.

Shutrump recounted how she first became involved in school transportation in 1991, after her supervisor at the time received a phone call from a parent who expressed concern that her son was being transported unsafely to school in his wheelchair.

“I learned that she was right and I have never stopped learning since then,” Shutrump said during her acceptance speech. “And that is thanks to this incredible transportation community, full of people who are so willing to share their expertise in support of getting kids to school safer.”

Meanwhile, Jeff Hall, a school bus driver for Dickson County Schools in Tennessee, was posthumously awarded the NAPT Heroism Award sponsored by Blue Bird, for his selfless and decisive actions while evacuating students during a December 2025 school bus fire emergency, despite only being a school bus driver for four months. He died unexpectedly Feb. 10. Melissa Garton, director of transportation for Dickson County Schools, accepted the award on Hall’s behalf Sunday.

The School Bus Driver Training & Safety Award, sponsored by IC Bus, was presented to Dennis Murphy, training and safety officer for Greenville County Schools in South Carolina. Murphy was recognized for his commitment to school bus driver training and for helping advance student transportation safety. He was ill and unable to attend NAPT, so his colleague Shane Mitchell accepted the award on his behalf. IC Bus created the award to recognize school districts, companies and transportation professionals with exemplary driver-training programs and includes a $500 grant to further enhance driver training within the recipient’s operation.

The Continuing Education Award, sponsored by Thomas Built Buses, was presented to Angela Renz, the Northeast and Southeast Quadrant Manager for Metro Nashville Public Schools in Tennessee. The award recognizes Renz’s commitment to continued learning and to advancing the student transportation profession through education.

The NAPT Special Needs Transportation Award, sponsored by Q’Straint/Sure-Lok, was presented to Pamela Kelley, transportation administrative assistant at Spartanburg School District Six in South Carolina. Kelley was honored for her dedication to providing safe, compassionate and exceptional transportation for students with disabilities and special needs.

Related: Shutrump Humbled By Grandolfo Special Needs Award at STN EXPO
Related: Update: NHTSA Seeks Fix to Child Safety Restraint Standard Affecting School Buses
Related: NAPT Opens Nominations for 2026 Board Elections in Three Regions

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A sixth-grade student from Prosper, Texas was named the overall national winner of the 2026 National School Bus Safety Poster Contest for artwork illustrating this year’s theme, “Safe Rides, Everyday Heroes.”

The National Association for Pupil Transportation announced that Sai Darshana Yekolu, a student at Moseley Middle School, received the contest’s highest honor after her entry advanced through state-level competition. Her artwork will be featured during National School Bus Safety Week, scheduled for Oct. 19-23.

Judges representing NAPT, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, and the National School Transportation Association evaluated the national entries. Posters were judged on their safety impact, originality, artistic quality, and visual effectiveness. The theme was, “Safe Rides, Everyday Heroes.”

Darshana-Yekolu also won first place in Division 3, which includes students in grades six through eight. Aashna Tandon of Harris Road Middle School in Concord, North Carolina, placed second. Kathleen Ashcraft of Shady Spring Middle School in Shady Spring, West Virginia, placed third.

Other first-place recipients were Alston Lai of Anne Sullivan Elementary School in Sugar Land, Texas, in the kindergarten-through-second-grade division; Maria Montero of JM Hill Elementary in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, in the grades three-through-five division; Jamal Moore of Rockwall-Heath High School in Heath, Texas, in the special education division; and Olivia Brown of Burlington County Institute of Technology Westampton in Westampton, New Jersey, in the computer-aided drawing division.

Second- and third-place honorees represented schools in Delaware, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

“Every one of these posters represents more than artistic talent. They represent students thinking about what school bus safety means to them and then sharing that message with the people around them,” said Molly McGee Hewitt, NAPT executive director and CEO.

Hewitt also thanked the teachers, transportation professionals, state associations, families, and communities that provide students with opportunities to participate.

Students enter the contest through local and state competitions, with qualifying artwork advancing to national judging. NAPT said the process brings school bus safety discussions into classrooms while allowing student-created messages to reach communities across the country. The winning entries are also intended to encourage safer practices around school buses.

NAPT is seeking to strengthen the connection between local, state and national participation through its newly formed Strategic Initiatives Committee. Dawnett Wright, transportation director at Peninsula School District in Washington and NAPT Region 5 director, chairs the committee.

“National initiatives are strongest when they are brought to life in our states and local communities,” Wright said, calling the poster contest an example of how a classroom project can become part of a national safety message.

Wright said the committee will work to create more opportunities for states to participate in the poster contest, Love the Bus Month in February and National School Bus Safety Week, observed during the third full week of October.

The annual safety week is a public education initiative involving students, parents, educators, motorists, school bus operators, administrators, and other partners. It promotes safe behavior on and around school buses.

NAPT plans to announce the theme and full guidelines for the 2027 contest following NAPT ACTS this fall. The drawing period is expected to begin in November, allowing students across North America time to participate despite differing school calendars.

Related: Iowa Launches Inaugural School Bus Safety Week Poster Contest
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Related: Georgia Middle School Student Wins National School Bus Safety Poster Contest

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The National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) is opening nominations for three seats on its board of directors, including its newly created region representing Canada and other international members.

NAPT announced Wednesday in an email that nominations for directors of Regions 2, 4 and 6 will be accepted from Aug. 27 through Sept. 25. Electronic voting is scheduled for Nov. 16 through 20, with results announced Nov. 23.

Candidates must be NAPT members in good standing and first submit a letter of intent outlining their background, qualifications and reasons for seeking office. Each candidate needs at least two nominations from active NAPT members within the same region. All materials must be emailed to NAPT President-Elect and nominations committee chair Melody Coniglio by Sept. 25.

Qualified candidates will have until Oct. 7 to submit a required questionnaire and resume, as well as an optional introductory video. Candidates attending NAPT ACTS in Louisville, Kentucky will be introduced during the National Transportation Briefing on Oct. 4.

Candidate campaign pages are scheduled to go live beginning Oct. 12, with campaigning continuing through Nov. 13.

The Region 2 seat is currently held by Alex Spann of Tennessee, while Rosalyn Vann-Jackson of Broken Arrow Public Schools in Oklahoma serves as secretary and Region 4 director. NAPT currently lists the Region 6 director position as vacant.

Region 6 is the newest addition to NAPT’s governance structure. Association members approved a change to the bylaws in January to establish the region and provide representation for international members, with a particular focus on Canada.

The region includes all Canadian provinces as well as Mexico, Europe, Africa, the Middle East/North Africa and the West Pacific, including China, Japan and Singapore.

Meanwhile, Region 2 encompasses Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Region 4 includes Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.

Additional election information and updates are available at napt.org/napt-elections.

Related: NAPT Announces Election Winners Ahead of Annual Conference
Related: Gallery: NAPT ACTS 2025
Related: NAPT Announces More Annual Award Winners for 2025

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Industry conferences are gearing up for the fall season, and agendas are being released with the latest and greatest information for student transportation professionals who are heading back to work for the new school year.

The National Association for Pupil Transportation’s 49th Annual Conference and Trade Show, NAPT ACTS 2026, will take place Oct. 3–7, 2026, in Louisville, Kentucky. This year’s theme, “Building Leaders for the Route Ahead,” emphasizes leadership development, professional learning and stronger connections across the student transportation community.

The five-day program is designed for transportation directors, fleet and maintenance professionals, trainers, routers, safety specialists and other school transportation leaders. It includes more than 40 sessions and workshops, over 10 NAPT Professional Development Series courses, and four certification pathways. Topics cover operational safety, crisis communication, data-driven decision-making, strategic and facility planning, student behavior, transporting students with disabilities, workforce retention, preventive maintenance, regulatory compliance and transportation technology.

Specialized programming includes workshops for new directors and maintenance teams, a national transportation briefing, recertification sessions and a Transportation Directors Executive Forum.

The trade show takes place Oct. 5, where attendees can explore school transportation products, technology and services and connect directly with industry suppliers.

Networking is built throughout the event through a first timers’ breakfast, marketplace sessions, receptions, regional assemblies, social events and sponsor demonstrations. The keynote, “Achieving Rock Star Status in Your Profession,” will be delivered by drummer and leadership speaker Kenny Aronoff, drawing lessons from high-performance music environments about teamwork, communication, creativity and collaboration.

Nearly a month later, the Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs Conference kicks off, hosting a Transportation Director Summit for the first time. Hosted by School Transportation News, the event will take place Nov. 4–10, 2026, in Frisco, Texas, and brings together school transportation and special-education professionals from across the country to improve the safety, accessibility and quality of transportation provided to students with disabilities and preschool-age children.

The conference is intended for transportation directors, fleet managers, driver trainers, school bus drivers, aides and monitors, special-education professionals, Head Start and childcare staff, superintendents, executives, manufacturers and industry suppliers. Its program combines educational sessions, hands-on training, product demonstrations and networking opportunities focused specifically on the operational and legal challenges of specialized student transportation.

Educational topics include individualized education and transportation plan development, funding amid the U.S. Department of Education moving IDEA to Health and Human Services, student-data protection, positive behavior support, transporting medically fragile students, wheelchair securement, school bus aide and monitor training, updated national specifications, and the use of artificial intelligence in transportation operations. The program also includes American Sign Language training, child-passenger safety instruction and sessions addressing accessibility and inclusive transportation practices.

A major component of the event is its specialized training. Attendees can participate in a national course on child-passenger safety aboard school buses, including hands-on practice with child safety restraint systems for preschoolers and students with disabilities. Other experiences include wheelchair-securement training, a special-needs transportation roadeo and workshops that allow participants to practice procedures rather than learning exclusively through classroom presentations.

New for 2026 is the two-day Transportation Director Summit, held Nov. 4–5. This limited-capacity program is designed for qualified transportation directors and fleet leaders and focuses on leadership, trust, innovation, peer problem-solving and collaboration with manufacturers and suppliers. Participants will take part in expert presentations, small-group discussions and structured networking before the main conference begins.

The TSD Trade Show will feature dozens of exhibitors presenting specialized buses, wheelchair and occupant-restraint equipment, safety systems, fleet software, video technology and other products developed for transporting students with additional needs. A trade-show reception provides attendees with an informal setting to meet suppliers, examine equipment and discuss potential solutions for their local operations.

Related: New Date Set for NHTSA Child Passenger Safety Training at TSD
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Later that week, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services Annual Conference kicks off, Nov. 14-17 at The Ritz-Carlton, in Arlington, Virginia. The members-only event brings together state pupil transportation directors, state agency staff, transportation association leaders, federal officials, manufacturers, suppliers and other industry professionals.

The conference focuses on policy, regulation, safety and operational issues affecting school transportation at the state and national levels. Its location near Washington, D.C., gives attendees the opportunity to hear directly from federal transportation and safety partners. Invited agencies include the National Transportation Safety Board, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Transportation Security Administration.

Educational sessions address training, transportation for students with special needs, school bus crash investigations and emerging trends in pupil transportation. State directors will also lead discussions about the most significant challenges facing school transportation programs, allowing attendees to compare policies, share practices and examine how different states are responding to common safety and operational concerns.

The event also includes keynote presentations, group meals and networking opportunities intended to strengthen collaboration among government agencies, state transportation leaders and private-sector partners. Unlike a traditional trade show, NASDPTS hosts a smaller Supplier Showcase and Networking Session, scheduled for Nov. 15. The tabletop format allows suppliers to present products, services and industry innovations while meeting directly with state directors and other transportation decision-makers.

Written with the assistance of AI.

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