The recently approved National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures that was published online and has been printed did not contain a new and historic section on alternative transportation.
The online version was removed from the National Congress on School Transportation website as of Friday, pending the update.
School Transportation News discovered the omission this week while finalizing the October magazine edition. STN asked for clarification from alternative transportation writing committee chair Tyler Bryan of the Delaware Department of Education, who in turn notified the NCST steering committee. Steering committee chair Michael LaRocco confirmed the oversight to STN Thursday.
The NCST steering committee informed state delegates and interested parties who attended the deliberations in May via email Friday that an online version of the updated specifications and the recently printed books are “incomplete.”
LaRocco added in the email that NCST is reprinting the books at no cost to those who ordered them, and the manuals will include a notation and disclaimer “to minimize any confusion.”
The new manuals should arrive at their destinations in two to three weeks, he added.
The alternative transportation section that was omitted contained guidance on driver credentials, driver training, vehicle design/equipment, and special education policy considerations. It was a new section included in the specs manual for the 17th NCST and was the first time the event that dates to 1939 took up the issue of non-school bus transportation.
Additionally, LaRocco told STN Friday the update will include another small technical change.
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Related: Updated: NCST Takes on Issue of Non-School Bus Transportation
