Over the past 20 years, I have received hundreds of interesting calls requesting technical assistance from scores of individuals including, but not limited to, legislative members, government officials, lawyers, press, state and local directors of both transportation and special education, parents and advocates.

However, this past August I received a memorable call. The caller caught me completely off guard when he shared that three weeks before the beginning of the school year, he agreed to be reassigned as a specialist in the transportation office in the area of special needs transportation. His request simply put was, "Dr. Bluth, I am desperate. Can you please help by sending me everything you have on special needs transportation?"

In 1979, when I collaborated on my first publication about special needs transportation for the Maryland State Department of Education, this was a reasonable request. I was stunned. After a long pause, I asked, "Can you please repeat your question?" The only change was that I was asked to send everything ASAP. I responded by asking a few questions of my own, beginning with, "Are you a special educator?" I received a positive response, followed by the question, "Are you knowledgeable at all about special needs transportation?" "No". Then I asked the million-dollar question, "Is this something you want to do?" Response: "I am very interested in this challenge." I was hooked.

I indicated I would call back in a few days and try to provide some structure for this man's journey. This individual sounded both nervous and sincere so I felt an obligation to get started immediately.

I admit that a complete stranger threw me into a frenzy which was a wonderful adventure resulting in a self-assessment and tracking my knowledge of special needs transportation. I had to admit to myself that the last time I may have known just about everything out there was twenty years ago when I wrote my first transportation piece in 1979 titled "Transportation of Handicapped Children."

At that time, there was a void of information and cyberspace. For starters, I sent this young man to the STN Website at www.stnonline.com to get his introduction to what was out there, and I headed down my own path. I suggested that he begin his transportation journey by taking an inventory of existing special education local policies and procedures. Next I provided the phone number of his state director of transportation, and suggested that he ask the state director for a person who may be a willing mentor. I told him, after he completed this assignment, he should purchase a copy of the 1995 National Standards For School Transportation. He was now on his way into a wealth of information that would include national, state and local resources.

With these initial suggestions, I found myself glued to the computer and developed a checklist of recommendations how to get started in the special needs transportation information loop. Time was ticking away, and during my follow-up call I suggested that a professional library be started in the following categories:

1. Policies and Procedures (national, state and local)
2. Publications including industry magazines and newsletters regarding special needs transportation (national, state and local)
3. Training opportunities in special needs transportation (national, state and local)
4. Special Needs Equipment, including supplier listings and opportunities for on-site review of equipment (national, state and local)
5. Industry File on Data/Research (national, state and local)
6. Technical Assistance Resources which include the names of industry leaders in special needs transportation as well as safety, special education law and all aspects of daily operations
7. Behavior management, medically fragile children, and infants and toddlers

I could have gone on and on, but I didn't want to raise his anxiety by talking about such issues as school board requests for information, funding issues, and personnel shortages, to mention just a few of the real world encounters we have all faced soon enough.

After all was said and done, I recommended that prior to the opening of school he learn about the special needs population served in his school district, ride on a few routes, speak with drivers and monitors before school started, address family questions first time around, recognize and acknowledge the importance of the role of all personnel involved in transporting students with special needs, and be prepared for a host of community priorities. I strongly recommended that he begin his own internal network of new best friends including someone in the special education and transportation offices. Then I wished him a smooth journey.

As reality has it, more and more individuals are requested to serve as with special education transportation liaisons with limited background in transportation. Some of us can still remember our own entry into the world of special needs transportation.

Last but not least, I felt an obligation to warn him about last minute address changes the week before school starts, and told him to be prepared for the phone calls day one, week one and through the first month. I decided to be quiet because I was scaring myself.

I will be pleasantly surprised if this individual becomes one of the many new special needs transportation personnel to attend the 25th Annual National Association for Pupil Transportation Conference in Denver. Perhaps my caller will be one of many new leaders into the next millennium!

Dr. Linda F. Bluth is the branch chief of Community Interagency Services with the Maryland Department of Education's Division of Special Education. She is a nationally recognized expert on special needs transportation. can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .