Starting this July in Reno, Nev., School Transportation News will begin offering NAPT Professional Development Courses, and the Special Needs Endorsement is the first program we'll tackle. In conjunction with NAPT, the STN EXPO will provide four learning experiences to help both NAPT members and non-members take the next step on the road to discovery. And successfully completing the track will look mighty good on the resume.

For years, the STN EXPO has offered one of the required courses, the eight-hour NHTSA Child Passenger Safety Restraint Systems on School Buses preconference workshop. The classroom and hands-on workshop teaching proper installation and securement of child safety restraint systems is not only a pre-requisite for the full 32-hour NHTSA Chill Passenger Safety Technician certification but it is also one of six steps necessary for obtaining the NAPT Special Needs Endorsement.

Other courses to be offered for the first time this year are a four-hour special needs basics workshop, a four-hour behavior management course and an assignment that must be completed during the STN Trade Show on July 27. More information on these courses, including registration, and others will be released shortly.

STN is the latest organization to partner with NAPT on offering its Professional Development Courses and certfications. Several state associations have already held similar courses, and more are on the way. According to NAPT, there will also soon be NAPT workshops available at other national conferences.