Linda Bluth, an original member of the tenured faculty for the Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs Conference, will be presenting and facilitating a Veteran’s Day general session panel discussion in November on navigating the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.
The U.S. Department of Education stated that one of the major purposes of IDEA is “to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a ‘free appropriate public education’ that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education.” Bluth will delve into the details of federal law procedures and requirements using her decades of expertise in special needs transportation policies and procedures.
Bluth will be joined by panelists Alexandra Robinson, president of A. Robinson Consulting and a former director of transportation, Launi Schmutz-Harden, transportation consultant and retired director of transportation, and Susan Shutrump supervisor of OT/PT Services at Trumbull County of Educational Service Center in Ohio. Both Robinson and Shutrump are also TSD Conference tenured faculty members
The panel will discuss solutions, suggestions, best practices and case conclusions with real-life scenarios experienced by transportation departments and how to handle these to fulfill the best interest of the child. They will also address state and district requirements in the implementation of IDEA.
The general session will contain insight into procedural safeguards, provisions of IDEA, discipline protections and how IEP (Individual Education Plans) are crucial in determining eligibility for appropriate transportation.
Bluth has spoken at many state and national student transportation conferences over the past two decades. Her unique experience as an expert witness testimony on cases involving student transportation at the criminal and civil level add to her qualifications on navigating the world of federal transportation laws.
Bluth has served in various special needs education and transportation leadership roles such as the president of the National Association of Pupil Transportation and chief of the Office of Special Education Administration and Quality Assurance at the Maryland State Department of Education. She has received the NAPT’s Distinguished Service Award as well as the Q’STRAINT/Sure-Lok Special Needs Transportation Award for excellence in transporting students with special needs.
The general session, “Navigating IDEA: Implementing Appropriate Transportation Services for Children with Disabilities,” is scheduled to be held at the 2022 TSD Conference in Frisco, Texas on Nov. 11, at 8 a.m. The TSD Conference Trade Show follows immediately after.
Save $100 on full conference registration with the Early Bird Discount (valid through Sept. 30). Visit tsdconference.com to register.
Related: School Transportation Documentation to Access Medicaid Funding for School-Based Services
Related: TSD Keynote Speaker Says ‘It’s All About Relationships’
Related: (STN Podcast E91) Onsite at the TSD Conference: A Heart For Vulnerable Student Populations
