Friday, July 11

As of 6/13/25. Subject to change.

General Session

8 a.m – 12 p.m.

School Bus Accident Investigation: Be Prepared for a Lawsuit

Location: Naples 6 & 7

Presenters: Dick Fischer & Pete Baxter

The two-way radio announces, “I have a bad accident, at _____.”

Now what are you going to do?

This eight-hour class we will teach you outstanding ways to protect you and your operation in the correct way to preform that school bus collision investigation. Things you need to do from the first phone call until the lawsuit(s). It is not a matter of “if” but “when.”

The instructors have over 100 years of service in pupil transportation, and both are expert witness in court for legal case involving school bus collisions.

(Maximum of 75 participants. Separate registration is required.)

(Laptop recommended for this training)

Special Training

8 a.m – 2 p.m.

National School Bus Inspection Training Program

Location: Naples 1 – 4

InstructorsDerek Bryant, ASE; Alan Fidler, MSD of Lawrence Township; Jannet Malig, Long Beach (California) Clean Cities; Lawson Mollica, Long Beach (California) Clean Cities; Harley Pinson, Paulding County School District; & Ariel Rodriguez, School Bus Technician Consultant

Description:  Developed by school bus maintenance and inspection expert Marshall Casey, STN EXPO offers the National School Bus Inspection Training Program to fully train technicians on how to conduct regular vehicle inspections, above and beyond state or federal Department of Transportation guidance. The program is derived from best practices used in overseeing the maintenance of school buses in South Carolina, the only completely owned and operated state fleet in the nation. Attendees will learn how to discover more defects prior to failure, which allows for expedited repairs, increased vehicle uptime, and a more efficient maintenance program. Friday’s agenda includes eight hours of classroom instruction, including preparation for a written exam, with a second day of hands-on identification planned for defects on real school buses, hosted by Washoe County School District and with transportation provided.

(Maximum of 50 participants. Separate registration is required.)

Special Training

8 a.m – 5 p.m.

NHTSA Child Passenger Safety on School Buses National Training

Location: Tuscany 5 & 6

Instructors: Kathy Anneken. Denise Donaldson, Kala Henkensiefken, Miriam Manary & Charlie Vits

Description: The Child Passenger Safety on School Buses National Training provides an overview of the use of child safety restraint systems on school buses, with a focus on pre-school aged children and children with disabilities. Instructional videos are incorporated throughout the training. Participants are provided time for hands-on practice with guidance from skilled staff members. Nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians will earn 3.5 continuing education units (CEUs) for course completion.

This seminar is available to as an add-on to Main Conference registration, or can be taken by itself. 

Registration Fee: $249 (Early Bird at $199 ends 6/6)

(Maximum of 50 participants. Separate registration is required.)

Special Training

9 a.m – 12 p.m.

Mastering Wheelchair & Occupant Securement Training Certification Class

Location:Tuscany 11 & 12

Instructor: Maritza Valentin

Description: At this Training Boot Camp, student transporters will learn to train with AMF Bruns’ recently launched automatic and self-tensioning Silver Series retractors. With this course, school transportation professionals will be provided the tools to support and teach their teams proper safety techniques, which included hands-on training. The key objective to this course include: Overview of equipment, Securing the wheelchair, Securing the occupant with a different variety of occupant securements, Understanding your vehicle floor anchorages, WC 18 and WC 19 and understanding the regulation; identifying a WC 19 wheelchair, Raising awareness about risks of not properly securing passengers, Deboarding passengers, and Passenger sensitivity/etiquette.

Certification will be provided upon completion of this course.

This seminar is available to Main Conference Attendees but requires separate registration at no extra charge. Class size is limited to 50 participants.

(Maximum of 80 participants. Separate registration required.)

Presented by

AMF
Special Training

1 p.m – 5 p.m.

School Bus Routing 101: Setting One Up for Success

Location: Naples 6 & 7

Speaker: Kerry Somerville, CEO of Transportation Planning Solutions

Description: The ever-shifting routing puzzle is a reality many student transporters face. This new 4-hour seminar will share recommendations for making it a smoother process. Attendees will attain a holistic view of routing, starting with the request for proposal process and crafting requirements that align with the technology needs of the district. This will extend to discussing how to ensure district support and awareness of the technology benefits.

 

The seminar will cover how to correctly set up the software, whatever that might be, and effectively utilize it to meet the school district’s unique needs, including factors such as data input, routing optimization and student ridership verification. Somerville looks to draw attention to common pitfalls of using new routing technology and how to avoid them.

 

Attendees will learn more about how to ensure long-term success by making sure routing technology integrates with other transportation technology systems and overall district staff needs. All these components together will help attendees form a game plan for their routing technology systems that will not only be efficient but save money for their school district.

TD Summit

3 p.m – 6 p.m.

Transportation Director Summit (Apply for Approval)

Welcome, Hot Industry Topic Discussion, Networking & Refreshments

Location: Tuscany E & F

Speaker: Tony Corpin, School Transportation News, Publisher

 Both days attendance required. Transportation, breakfast and lunch provided on Saturday, July 12.

Applications will be reviewed once submitted and our team will reach out to confirm approvals. Pre-event survey is required to be completed prior to the event in order to gain entry.

Additional Session Topics

  • School Bus Accident Investigation: Be Prepared for a Lawsuit
  • So, You Want to Become a Transportation Supervisor? 
  • OEM Panel on Pathway forward for Diesel, Gasoline, Electric and Propane Buses 
  • Transportation leadership Amid Policy Changes at U.S. Department of Education 
  • Budgeting for the Transportation Professional
  • Day-long Electrical Circuity Training by Clean Cities
  • Creating Electric School Bus Standards
  • USF/E-Rate Update 
  • NCST Takeaways & Impacts
  • Routing 101 
  • Operation STEER
  • School Bus Smoke & Evacuation
  • Head Start & Preschool Passenger Securement
  • Impact of FMVSS 301

And more!