The Transporting Students with Disabilities & Special Needs Conference & Trade Show is almost here. Final preparations are being completed for the popular March 15-20 event at the Embassy Suites Dallas-Frisco Hotel Convention Center & Spa.
- Related: Another Great Speaker at TSD, Heather Hirsch
- Related: TSD Conference Highlights for Day 5 — Tuesday, March 19
- Related: TSD Conference Highlights for Day 4 — Monday, March 18
- Related: TSD Conference Highlights for Day 3 — Sunday, March 17
- Related: TSD Conference Highlights for Day 2 — Saturday, March 16
- Related: TSD Conference Highlights for Day 1 — Friday, March 15
- Related: Star Speaker Patrick Mulick Returns to TSD Conference
- Related: TSD Conference Speakers Set
HIGHLIGHTS OF DAY 2 — SATURDAY, MARCH 16
Orientation Session
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Join TSD Conference staff as we preview the upcoming conference sessions and trade show, facilitate a week’s worth of peer-to-peer networking, familiarize attendees with the official conference app, scan badges and answer your questions.
Facilitators: Tony Corpin, Ryan Gray & Kent Myers
Wheelchair Securement & Occupant Protection Lessons from the Crash Lab
10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Learn the “whys” behind the proper use of wheelchair tie-downs and occupant protection systems. This session will provide insights into the importance of best practices in wheelchair transportation safety. Crash videos will document the consequences of misuse. The content offers new ways to explain the importance of “doing it right” to colleagues, students and families.
Presenter: Miriam Manary
Using PBIS for Emotional Behavior Disabilities on the School Bus
10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Learn how to use positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) on school buses, to help school bus staff interact better, and build good working relationships with students who have emotional behavior disorders (EBD). Learn how to teach EBD students positive bus expectations, while the bus staff will learn how to recognize those students for following their expectations.
Presenter: Amy Tidens & Pat Ames
Head Start & Early Childhood Transportation Forum
10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Office of Head Start officials will facilitate a discussion with Head Start transporters to share information and resources, answer questions, and promote transparency to increase safety and convenience for student riders and their families.
Foundations of Special Needs Transportation
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Learn the foundations of special needs transportation, including an overview of federal law, training best-practices, the role of Head Start and preschool, McKinney-Vento homeless regulations, plus operations. If you are new to transportation, or would just like to review why and what is required, then this session is for you.
Presenters: Maria Carocci & Betty Hughes
Risks Inherent to Special Needs Training & Overcoming Indecision
1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Sometimes the system fails. When systemic issues are the cause, they often can’t be solved overnight. Yet, as Teddy Roosevelt said, the worst thing you can do is nothing, when faced with a decision. This panel discussion centers on what student transportation leaders can do today to effect change and empower staff to do the right thing for their students.
Facilitator: Cathy Staggs
Panelists: Dana Acock, Dayle Cantrall & Caleb Williams
Legal Strategies for Curbing Workplace Violence
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Violence by co-workers or former employees on the job site is becoming more common. Workplace violence can range from discourtesy to verbal assault, or even physical aggression. Effective workplace violence prevention requires strong policies, training and knowledge. This session will introduce you to warning signs, techniques to defuse a situation, when to contact local law enforcement, how to minimize liability, and how to help employees with the issues that are faced. Hypothetical situations will be discussed and questions will be encouraged.
Presenter: Monica Velazquez, Esq.
Proper Training, Oversight & Compliance of Private Bus Contractors
2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
The success of transportation operations for students with special needs depends largely on those who are charged with the responsibility of administering the school transportation program. This panel discussion will focus on the collaborative efforts of school districts and private transportation contractors to provide oversight of transportation services, ongoing training, and compliance with state and federal rules and regulations.
Facilitator: Julie Jilek
Panelists: Derrick Agate, Dave Armbrecht & Fred Dolker
Social Media Policies for Student Transporters
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Our society has embraced many ever-changing platforms of social media. How can an employer keep up with sites that might contain information that is being shared among employees or with the public at large? When should an employer check social media posts of their employees or candidates for employment? This session will answer these questions, and suggest policies that are likely to prevent employers from running afoul of employees’ rights, while balancing the importance of driver and student safety.
Presenter: Monica Velazquez, Esq.
Cross-Border Cooperation Between Education & Transportation Agencies
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Parents on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border often live in poverty and may fail to enroll their children with disabilities in school. Remedies can address lack of information, parent attitudes, lack of transportation, the inability of parents to pay for transportation and other reasons. This session will review the potential for transportation and education agencies in both countries to cooperate within and between states along the border, to transport students with disabilities to school.
Presenters: Pete Meslin & Tom Rickert
Browse the detailed conference workshop schedule.
Conference Registration Contact:
Alice Hung Sabedra
Senior Events Coordinator
alice@stnmedia.com
310-802-7811
Last Chance to Exhibit
More than 70 exhibitors will be available for attendees to meet and discuss their operations with, and exhibit spaces are almost completely sold out. To reserve a booth, contact: Tony Corpin, STN Publisher, at 310-802-7803 or tony@stnmedia.com.
