WASHINGTON, D.C. - Shortly before the start of the school year the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSEP) of the U.S. Department of Education issued a formal memorandum pertinent to pupil transportation, to all State Directors of Special Education with a "cc" to all Chief State School Officers. OSEP's memo is in response to a meeting and subsequent letter from the National Association for Pupil Transportation and the National School Transportation Association.

Earlier, the two associations met with Tom Irvin, Office of Special Education Programs, to discuss the industry's concerns about the transportation of students with special needs under the IDEA Amendments of 1997. The associations discussed with Irvin the importance of timely information sharing between transportation providers and special education personnel. In addition they described the transportation challenges private bus companies under contract to school districts, and transportation personnel in public schools, encounter during the IEP process.

In the meeting with Irvin, NAPT and NSTA representatives expressed their concern that transportation providers are "rarely consulted by the teams preparing individual education plans" and are often "excluded from IEP planning because IEP teams believe that their participation would violate a student's privacy."

They also told Horn it was imperative that school bus drivers and aides receive appropriate, child-specific training, and be included in special education training programs.

"The problems we as transportation providers face in accessing necessary information about our passengers and specialized training for our drivers," Robin Leeds of NSTA and Mike Martin of NAPT wrote in their communication to OSEP, "are a reflection of deficiencies not in the regulations, but in implementation and compliance at the state and local levels. Whether it is due to misunderstanding, ignorance, or disregard of the regulations, the fact is that many school districts do not recognize their obligations to transportation personnel as related service providers."

Four months later OSEP sent a memorandum to State special education directors supporting the NAPT and NSTA requests. Stephanie Lee Smith, Office of Special Education programs, told directors that OSEP encourages them, "[T]o contact the local education agencies in your state to call their attention to the transportation provisions in the regulations and to encourage them . to ensure that there is meaningful and effective communication - before the fact - between school district personnel and transportation providers about the transportation needs and potential problems of individuals students with disabilities ..

"Transportation providers play an integral role in the school lives of many children, including children with disabilities, which makes effective communication between the school and the providers essential," wrote Smith. "We believe that, for the safety and well-being of all children who ride school buses, including children with disabilities, it is crucial that they are appropriately and effectively transportation by well-informed and well-trained transportation providers," she said.

The OSEP memorandum further recommends that the state special education directors remind the LEAs of their obligations under Part B and to encourage LEAs to ensure that transportation providers are fully informed, prior to providing services, of their responsibilities to adhere to the requirements of the IEP as well as the individual needs of the children they are transporting.

Although it does not specifically address the questions NAPT and NSTA raised in their May 2nd letter, the OSEP action is an important development according to Dr. Linda Bluth, Branch Chief, Community and Interagency Services Division of Special Education with the Maryland Department of Education.

"This OSEP memorandum will serve as an important tool to close the communication gap between transportation providers and LEA special education department," she said. "It has the potential to open and extend meaningful dialogue that will result in better transportation planning for children with disabilities."