According to Legal Routes, a newsletter published six times a year on student transportation case law and compliance issues, evacuation practices on school buses should be reviewed now rather than later.

In January, a U.S. District Court found the case of I.R. v. Forest Marshall Peirce, et al in Pennsylvania "conscience shocking" because the school district failed to notify its bus company contractor of a student's osteopetrosis, a rare and debilitating condition that left the boy blind and with fragile bones. The contractor performed a school bus evacuation drill that instructed students to jump out of the rear emergency exit door, which caused severe fractures in the boy.

In its March edition, Legal Routes asked readers if the IEP team discusses potential needs for bus evacuations and mandated evacuation drills when considering a transportation plan for a student with disabilities. Additionally, does the drill take into account the student's needs and limitations? And do the evacuation planners as well as participants have all the information they need about a student's condition?

Legal Routes concluded that, if the answer to any of these questions is "no," then a school district needs to make changes.

A special two-hour bus evacuation class for transporters of students with disabilities and Head Start children returns to the 18th STN EXPO. Stay tuned for more details!