What Transporters Must Know About CSRS for Preschoolers on School Buses

July 14, 2024

Denise Donaldson, the editor and publisher of Safe Ride News Publications, and Sue Shurtrump, supervisor of OT/PT services for Trumbull County Educational Service Center in Ohio, discuss the importance of CSRS during STN EXPO Reno on July 14, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Vincent Rios Creative.)

RENO, Nev. — With the objective of explaining why preschoolers are not in child safety restraint systems (CSRS) and why they should be, speakers Denise Donaldson and Sue Shurtrump outlined what transporters must know.

In their Sunday morning session “Why Aren’t All Preschool Bus Riders in CSRS?” during STN EXPO Reno, Donaldson, the editor and publisher of Safe Ride News Publications, and Shurtrump, supervisor of OT/PT services for Trumbull County Educational Service Center in Ohio, gave insight on subjects such as child-specific limitations of school bus compartmentalization and basic approaches to CSRS selection.

Attendees learned about the challenges of transporting pre-school age children including infants, toddlers and some older students with disabilities in school buses that are specifically designed for K-12 students. Some of these challenges were young children being unable to sit properly, not being adequately protected by compartmentalization and the absence of laws that prohibit preschoolers in school buses built for older children.

The speakers also provided potential solutions to this gap in protection such as making it a priority to acknowledge each child’s needs. Additionally, Donaldson and Shutrump provided a list of CSRS types suitable for preschool children who ride on school buses. They also listed various links to federal legislation that protects students with disabilities in transportation and safety accommodations including CSRS were provided.

First-time STN EXPO attendee, Amber Biven, transportation specialist for Inspire Devel Centers in Washington was excited to learn more about CSRS and wishes there were more classes to certify people for safety.

Biven started out as a school bus driver and has been in the industry for 17 years. As a transportation specialist, she has many responsibilities, and her goal is to continue to educate herself in every aspect of transportation.

“I really enjoy being able to do a lot of different things, in my previous position I dealt with all the bus drivers, dispatch and routes,” she continued. “Now it’s more behind the scenes, so I am responsible for the fleet system, maintaining it and doing behind the wheel observations with bus drivers. So, it’s just a variety of things that I am learning.”

By attending the session, Biven’s goal was to educate herself more on safe transportation including aspects that will be beneficial for her and her drivers. “I have drivers that ask me questions and so I am educating myself more on these topics” she said.

Biven noted that the session was incredibly informative and that more people should sign up for these classes.