Keeping Students with Autism Safe on School Buses

Transportation for children with autism can be a crucial component of their Individualized Education Programs, and New Jersey has procedures in place that schools and caregivers can follow to make sure their child gets to school safely.

In January 2025, New Jersey Department of Education released the publication Transportation Considerations for Students with Disabilities. This guide underscores the Department’s commitment to student safety on buses, adding to processes and procedures that are already in place, like Student Bus Information Cards and policies that require drivers to double-check their buses every time they reach their last stop.

This new transportation publication, along with many of the Department’s safety policies, are all aimed at making sure students with disabilities are transported safely and are ready to meaningfully take part in their education when they arrive. This article will walk you through what you can do before, during, and after your Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting.

What Can You Do?

As a parent, there are tools, resources, and strategies that you can use to make sure that your child’s transportation to and from school is as smooth and safe as possible.

Before speaking with school staff, you can:

• Read section 1 of Transportation Considerations for Students with Disabilities to educate yourself about the rules, laws, and regulations on special education. Click here for more information about the publication and its different sections.
• Explore state and federal transportation and accessibility resources:
  • New Jersey Department of Education Office of School Bus Safety
  • New Jersey Student Transportation Regulations
  • US Department of Education – Q&A on Serving Children with Disabilities Eligible for Transportation
  • National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration – School Bus Safety
  • ADA Standards for Accessible Design

At an IEP Meeting, you can:

• Make sure you give the school your consent to share your completed Student Bus Information Card with the busing contractor
• Ask the school to translate the information card into the bus driver or aide’s primary language, if English is not their primary language
• Keep extra copies of your child’s Student Bus Information Card ready to share with any substitute drivers or aides
• Promptly let your Child Study Team know any concerns you have with your child’s transportation services

Transportation Considerations for Students with Disabilities

This Publication is divided into four sections and, when viewed as a PDF on a computer or mobile device, has many hyperlinks that navigate its sections and connect the reader to external resources. Those sections are:

One of the most meaningful tools for families is section 4, Policies, Procedures, and Practices. That section offers a list of guiding questions, divided up into short categories, that can help prompt conversations around eligibility, safety, incident protocols, consistency, reliability, and communication. Click here to download a copy of Transportation Considerations for Students with Disabilities.

Student Identification Card

The Department of Education also recently offered guidance to schools, reminding staff of the importance of Student Bus Information Cards. These cards are a way for parents to make sure that bus drivers and transportation aides have all the information they need to support their child.

After an IEP meeting where the Child Study Team discusses transportation, a parent fills out the Student Bus Information Card. Once the card is filled out and the parent gives their consent to share it with the bus company, the school is required to send it to the bus driver and aide.

The information card has three prompts, allowing parents to:

• Share information with a driver and/or aide that will help them ensure that the student rides the bus successfully
• Describe adaptive equipment that the driver and/or aide should be familiar with, including communication devices
• Add any other comments or suggestions

This design is simple to understand, easy to use, and offers a great deal of flexibility. It allows parents to highlight their child’s unique needs and make sure bus drivers and aides can keep their child as safe, healthy, and happy as possible.

End-Of-Route Inspection Reminder

In addition to guidance on information cards, the Department also underscored the importance of its existing rule: drivers must inspect their bus every time they reach the final stop.

New Jersey law states that a school bus driver must visually inspect their school bus to make sure no child has been left on that bus at the end of the route. This responsibility can’t be assigned to anyone else – including a bus aide. It must be done by the driver.

While many school bus drivers work for contracted transportation companies and are not Department of Education employees, there are still repercussions for any failure to check the bus at the end of the route. On a first offense, the school bus driver’s endorsement (a type of commercial license that is required to drive a school bus) is suspended for 6 months. If any child is harmed as a result of that failure, that penalty is escalated to permanent revocation of their school bus endorsement.

Additionally, the Department also requires that school bus drivers undergo regular training and, for the schools that have cameras installed on buses, suggests that schools do random checks to make sure drivers inspect their buses at the end of every route.

Need More Help?

For more individualized help and information about special education transportation, call our 800.4.AUTISM Helpline or email a member of Autism New Jersey’s helpline team at information@autismnj.org. Autism New Jersey is here every step of the way.