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| NAPT, ASBC celebrate 'Love the Bus' month
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NAPT
As a founding partner of the American School Bus Council (ASBC), NAPT participated in the 2016 'Love the Bus' event last Friday, February 19 at Cosumnes River Elementary School in Sloughhouse, California. During the event the school's nearly 500 students heard from United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 Administrator Jared Blumenfeld, Congressman Ami Bera, and Elk Grove Unified School District (USD) Superintendent Chris Hoffman. The students learned about being respectful to their bus drivers and appreciating the many benefits of the iconic yellow school bus, including safety, reduced traffic congestion, reduced energy use and air pollution, and assurance that all students have equitable access to educational programs. To read more about the program, visit americanschoolbuscouncil.org.
Visit the NAPT Facebook page to view photos from the event. And many thanks to everyone who helped make this event possible. We're already looking forward to next year's program!
| Latest NAPTV episode shows us how to 'Love the Bus'
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NAPT
It's 'Love the Bus' month! In honor of our favorite time of year, we've released the latest episode of NAPTV to celebrate the yellow bus and all of the wonderful men and women behind the wheel. Take a look at the episode and get some ideas for planning your own celebration.
Plus, take your chance at winning a free 2016 NAPT Summit registration! Send photos from your 2016 'Love the Bus' festivities to info@napt.org by next Monday, February 29 and one lucky member will receive complimentary registration to this year's Summit in Kansas City, MO. We look forward to seeing all of the ways you celebrate the bus.
| Frequent NAPT Collaborator Mark Aesch Joins 2016 LED Webinar Series
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NAPT
NAPT is excited to be partnering with frequent NAPT collaborator Mark Aesch for our 2016 Leading Every Day (LED) webinar series. Mark is the CEO of TransPro, a management consultancy that guides public organizations to new levels of performance excellence with its 7 Steps to Success strategic planning, performance scorecards, leadership coaching and customer satisfaction programs. Register today!
Throughout the 2016 LED webinar series Mark will guide participants to a strong understanding of how a performance management system works. We will discuss strategies to:
- Define success and establish goals
- Select the right metrics to measure and evaluate
- Align daily priorities to meet overall goals
- Create a culture of ownership and inspire employees
- Develop an "offense based" communication plan
- Display courageous decision-making
After six webinars, you'll be equipped to implement tactics within your own organization and lead your team to higher levels of performance. For full session descriptions, visit our website.
Join us for the 2016 webinar series.
| Still time to register for NAPT February Webinar
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NAPT
Join your colleagues this Wednesday, February 24 for the next NAPT member webinar, The Importance of Clean Diesel. Register now.
During this webinar we'll discuss:
- The condition of diesel fuel being delivered to your bulk storage tanks
- Current ISO cleanliness standards and what they mean to you
- Prevention of fuel system related problems
- Laboratory testing procedures to determine the condition of your fuel
- Reviewing what a good fuel program entails
Date & Time: TOMORROW — Wednesday, February 24 @ 1pm ET
Title: The Importance of Clean Diesel
Presenter: Phil Kramer, Vice President of Pupil Transportation, Hydrotex
Registration Fee: FREE for NAPT members
Reserve your spot!
Upcoming Webinars
- Wednesday, March 23 @ 1pm ET — 12 Ways to Ensure a Passed Inspection — Register today!
- Wednesday, April 27 @ 1pm ET — Summertime Bus Maintenance — Register today!
Mark Your Calendar
- NAPT's 42nd Annual Summit: November 4-8, 2016 in Kansas City, MO
| Industry working to keep DERA
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NAPT
NAPT is part of a uniquely broad coalition of environmental, science-based, public health, and industry groups supporting the reauthorization and appropriation of additional funding of the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA). Since implementation, DERA has become one of the most cost-effective federal clean air programs. EPA estimates every $1 in federal assistance is met with another $3 in non-federal matching funds, including significant investments from the private sector, and generates $7 to $18 in health and economic benefits. Every state benefits because 30 percent of the funding goes to support state programs which each state has established. The program has adopted many cost saving administrative practices, such as the inclusion of a rebate program applicable to school buses and construction equipment that speed the delivery of program funds with a minimum amount of red tape. The program effectively cleans our air and underpins employment in innovative industries.
EPA’s most recent estimates indicate that the program has upgraded nearly 73,000 vehicles or pieces of equipment, and saved over 450 million gallons of fuel. EPA estimates that total lifetime emission reductions achieved through DERA funding are 14,700 tons of PM and 335,200 tons of NOX. These reductions have created up to $12.6 billion of health benefits. The program helps to improve air quality at nation's schools, construction sites, highways, railyards and ports.
Because the DERA program goes hand and glove with effective state and local air programs, the DERA Coalition is urging that funding for DERA not come at the expense of critical funding for state and local air quality grants. State and local governments hold primary responsibility for preventing and controlling air pollution and rely on these grants to carry out their core obligations under the Clean Air Act, including monitoring air quality, assessing emissions impacts, developing comprehensive state implementation plans, permitting and inspecting sources, enforcing laws and regulations, and conducting public education and outreach.
The coalition believes the DERA program is still needed to help speed adoption of highly cost-effective emission control technologies for the legacy fleet of 10.3 million diesel vehicles which do not meet the most recent emission control standards. It is the hope of the coalition that Congress will provide leadership on this issue by including up to the most recent authorization level of $100 million for DERA in the Fiscal Year 2017 appropriations process.
NAPT
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NHTSA
The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced its latest estimate of traffic deaths, which show a steep 9.3 percent increase for the first nine months of 2015. The news comes as the agency kicks-off its first in a series of regional summits with a day-long event in Sacramento, Calif., to examine unsafe behaviors and human choices that contribute to increasing traffic deaths on a national scale. Human factors contribute to 94 percent of crashes according to decades of NHTSA research.
READ MORE
By: Bambi Majumdar
 The new year started out with school districts campaigning for funds and state governments announcing budget hikes for the same. Nothing new in that except for the unprecedented manner in which multiple states are announcing these hikes simultaneously. Much has been said about budget cuts and administrative apathy in the last few years, but it seems 2016 will see a more positive stance from those involved. A good example is Florida.
READ MORE
Deseret News
School district administrators are having a tough time finding and keeping drivers to fill the seats of school buses. The lack of drivers has led to a number of complaints from parents about late drop-offs and pickups. It's a problem affecting almost every school district in the state. But one Utah district may have found a solution. A Deseret News investigation found the need for bus drivers is hitting 37 of 41 districts in the state, with the exception of a few smaller districts — and the Ogden School District.
READ MORE
District Administration Magazine
Students living in states with an antibullying law that includes at least one U.S. Department of Education-recommended legislative component had lower reported bullying and cyberbullying rates compared to students living in states without such legal provisions, according to recent research. The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics in 2015, examined data from 25 states to evaluate the effectiveness of anti-bullying legislation on reducing students' risk of being bullied in school and online. The DOE recommended a framework for anti-bullying laws in 2010, composed of 16 components divided into the following categories: definitions of policy, district policy development and review, mandated procedures, and strategies for communication, training and legal support.
READ MORE
KEVN-TV
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, school buses are the safest mode of transportation for getting children to and from school. And the manager of transportation and school warehouse for the Rapid City Area School District, Dennis Berg agrees, saying buses are the safest form of transportation on the road. Berg says school buses are designed to be safer than other vehicles in avoiding crashes and preventing injury.
READ MORE
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U.S. News & World Report
Rural schools face unique challenges that other schools don't, and for that reason many struggle with graduating students who are well-prepared to succeed beyond high school and help ignite the often already struggling economies in their rural communities. But when it comes to policy recommendations and state and federal programs, rural schools are often overlooked despite the fact that 29 percent of all public schools in the U.S. are located in rural areas — more than in cities or towns, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
READ MORE
SouthCoastToday
The cost for school transportation for homeless students in the temporary housing transition program at the Super 8 Motel, based on the current number of students in the system, could be over budget by $38,000 and Lindsey Albernaz, the director of business and finance for the schools, said there could be another $15,000 in costs added to that, based on information she was recently given. The School Department budgeted $60,000 for transportation for students in the homeless program, but Albernaz said her projection for that cost for the entire school year is $98,000.
READ MORE
The Atlantic
Charlotte, North Carolina, became a national model for school desegregation in the 1970s, busing students to balance the racial composition of its schools. Decades later, Charlotte is a city where no racial or ethnic group constitutes a majority of residents — whites (45 percent), blacks (35 percent), and Latinos (13 percent) top the city's multicultural mix. And within this diverse and fast-growing urban metropolis, the city's students are once again segregated by race and class, with levels reminiscent of the pre-1970s era.
READ MORE
By: Brian Stack
 In an effort to find new ways to reduce bullying and student conflict, many schools in recent years have been turning to restorative justice models to address student behavior while strengthening the culture and climate of the school community. Most restorative justice models follow a simple recipe of bringing affected parties together to make amends and reintegrate students into the classroom community. My high school implemented a restorative justice model two years ago.
READ MORE
WCPO-TV
A child would no longer be suspended or expelled from school for repeatedly missing classes if a bill related to truancy law reform is passed. The bill would prohibit public schools from suspending or expelling a student "solely on the basis of unexcused absences." It also removes "excessive truancy" from a 1998 law that requires schools to adopt zero-tolerance policies for "violent, disruptive or inappropriate behavior, including excessive truancy." Matt Verber, a policy director for StudentsFirst Ohio, said the bill would not only keep students in school but also provide necessary interventions to determine why the student is skipping class.
READ MORE
Transporting Children with Disabilities, 5th Edition,
by Dr. Linda F. Bluth, is available for purchase. NAPT members may purchase the Handbook for $19.99, plus shipping. The nonmember rate is $29.99, plus shipping.
To order your copy, please email NAPT Member Services Specialist, Brianne Peck at Brianne.Peck@napt.org today! To learn more about the new Certification in Special Needs Transportation (CSNT) click here.
Transporting Children with Disabilities, 5th Edition contains new and updated information, including useful definitions of transportation and related special education terms as well as characteristics of children with special needs and special considerations for transporting children with special needs. This popular publication also explains the legal basis for special needs transportation in accordance with the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 and contains information about new Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act regulations.
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