A school bus emergency that requires evacuation becomes even more multi-faceted when the unique needs of students with special needs or disabilities are factored in. At the 2024 Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs Conference (TSD) Conference, attendees of the Hands-on School Bus Evacuations for Students with Special Needs & Preschoolers class encountered this in real time during.
The TSD Conference brings together student transporters, special educators and other stakeholders for collaboration, education, networking and the critical hands-on training needed for those transporting our most precious cargo. Due to increased interest, two evacuation classes were held at the conference, one on Nov. 9 and one on Nov. 10. Both were hosted by Frisco Independent School District.
Launi Schmutz-Harden, industry consultant and TSD Tenured Faculty member, was one of the instructors for the class. Her many years in transportation have given her unique insight into the impact of emergency training. She noted the importance of collaboration when developing emergency response training. She listed meetings with emergency personnel, occupational & physical therapists, nurses, teachers and parents all as invaluable when determining an effective strategy to keep students and staff safe during emergency situations.
STN reached out to attendees who participated in the evacuation class to document their experiences. One such attendee was Joe Boyles, a school bus driver driver-trainer for the Montana Association for Pupil Transportation (MAPT). He had been driving a non-yellow school bus since 2013 and began operating his first yellow school bus route in 2023. His experience driving a bus with students with special needs only began last August. He explained that there was a need for a driver-trainer specifically for drivers of special education routes, which led him to attend the TSD Conference.
“I registered for the evacuation training because I have a student in a wheelchair and I did not have any training on evacuating a student in a wheelchair,” said Boyles. “I know that evacuations are a challenge any time, but I felt that if I got this training, I could bring it back to our district as well as create my own training for MAPT.
Misty Horttor, the route coordinator for Elko County School District in Nevada, said her experience working with students with special needs began in 2017, when she applied for a job as a substitute bus aide on for special education routes. Her career progressed to school bus driver, then driver-trainer, and she now serves in not only as route coordinator but site supervisor and lead trainer. She learned about the TSD Conference while attending STN EXPO West in Reno, Nevada.
She said the evacuation greatly interested her as “our drivers, especially our new drivers, are always intimidated by the thought of evacuation and evacuation drills. If there is a way to help them become more confident in their abilities, I am all for it.”
Both Boyles and Hortter said they received a wealth of information from the class. The classroom part of the evacuation class also includes a quiz for participants.
“The classroom part was great in that I needed the information to make the practical part make more sense. If you know the why we are doing this, the practice and practical part makes more sense,” said Boyles. “Coming up with an evacuation plan was probably the most informative for me. I needed to do one for my bus and this training gave me the information I needed to write that evacuation plan.”
“One of the most rewarding aspects of teaching this class is witnessing the attendees engage in brainstorming sessions to develop evacuation plans,” added Harden. “Their passion for their work and commitment to the children they support often leads to emotional moments, underscoring the importance of this training.”
The hands-on training has participants enter a bus filled with theater smoke to mimic conditions during an on-board fire. The vehicle also contains dolls representing student riders with various special needs and disabilities. Using fire extinguishers and other tools, attendees implement evacuation plans to safely remove the students. Horttor said she rescued a student in a car seat, using belt cutters, evacuated a student with a blanket and other challenging scenarios.
“You have no idea how disorienting the smoke will be until you are in the bus,” noted Horttor. “How difficult it is to sweep the whole bus to make sure no one was missed and how staggering it can feel to realize that in a real situation, which I’m sure would be a hundred times more stressful, you would have lost an actual child. It was an eye-opening experience that I would love to try with all of our drivers.”
Boyles noted how he appreciated the smoke for the added realism, saying, “It was a real eye opener for me. To be able to search a bus while keeping low is a lot harder than you would think. Knowing it was practice helped me to not panic and make a thorough search. I just hope that if I ever need to do a search, I can keep calm and be thorough.”
Horttor noted the importance of having an evacuation plan and practicing it is often underestimated by many. Engaging in the training at TSD also provided valuable input from student transportation professionals from other operations across the country that are facing their own unique challenges, she said. “This training made us think about the what ifs, including some what ifs that haven’t crossed our minds. But thanks to our very knowledgeable instructors, we hope these situations never happen, but we have plans in case they do.”
Harden shared feedback she received from Ann Taylor, coordinator of transportation at Clay County Schools in Florida, who has attended the evacuation class three times. “She appreciates the collaborative learning environment, where students share valuable insights with one another,” said Harden.
Harden continued that many participants of the class are using the information they learned at the TSD evacuation class at their operations in such states as California, Delaware, Florida, Oregon and Texas.
“As this was the first national training I have ever been to, I did not know what to expect. I was a bit overwhelmed as I am a new special needs driver,” said Boyles. “I truly believe that I gained much information that I will be able to use at our school district. I can also use that information in training other drivers across the state of Montana.”
Boyles continued “I will say that I learned so much at this conference that I am very glad I attended. I got so much information that I hope to use in the future at our school district. I plan to have a meeting with the Transportation Director about things we can implement and make our buses safer and have our drivers better trained. I would suggest to everyone, only change one thing at a time.”
Horttor summed up her experience saying, “I feel better about the training we are providing to our drivers as well as the things I can add to our training program in the future to hopefully help our drivers become more knowledgeable and confident in their ability to handle the situations that may come with this job.”
Harden noted the importance of registering for trainings early due to high demand and not underestimating the amount of time that should be spent on continuing the training.
“It is crucial to understand the importance of practicing evacuations with students, as it can take up to a year for them to learn how to exit safely in an emergency. For some students, the height of the backdoor can be daunting, akin to jumping from a two-story building. Planning and practicing is essential for the students that ride the bus,” said Harden. “This training is crucial at TSD, which serves as a comprehensive resource for those involved in transporting students with disabilities. We discuss real-life scenarios and ensure that all attendees are prepared for emergencies.”
Related: (STN Podcast E236) TSD 2024 Recap: Supporting Students with Special Needs as Unique People
Related: TSD Conference Panel Discusses Routing for Students with Special Needs
Related: Gallery: Smoke & Safety at TSD Evacuation Class
