1. WWW.PROJECTACTION.ORG Educators, Pupil Transportation, and Public Transportation Working together to Support Student Post- School Transition Judy L. Shanley, Ph.D. Director, Administration for Community Living, Mobility Management, & Student Engagement Projects Easter Seals Project ACTION Greg Akin, Director of Transportation, Volusia County Schools, Daytona Beach, FL Project 10 February 2013

2. ESPA, Today’s Agenda Overview of Easter Seals Project ACTION Strategies to Build a Continuum of Transportation Education Travel Instruction Education-Pupil Transportation Connections: An example using Community Based Instruction Discussion: What are you doing in your community?

3. ESPA, Easter Seals Project Action (ESPA) Mission: promote universal access to transportation for people with disabilities… Supports Transportation and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Begun by Congress twenty three years ago to build bridges of understanding between the Transportation and Disability Community Cooperative Agreement funded by the Federal Transit Administration and Administered by Easter Seals Aligned with Easter Seals work to improve the lives of children, youth, and adults with disabilities

4. ESPA, Four Functional Areas to Help Local Organizations Build Accessible Transportation Capacity Training Events – travel training, webinars, online training Technical Assistance – 800#, email, in-person coalition building events Applied Research – fund catalyst and gap filling programs to stimulate academic inquiry and leverage new product development Outreach – build awareness & create partnerships

5. ESPA, Easter Seals Mission –Providing exceptional services, education, outreach, and advocacy so that people living with autism and other disabilities can live, learn, work and play in our communities Areas of emphasis –People with autism –Military personnel & veterans –Older adults –Young children Service –Autism services –Children’s services –Employment & training –Adult and senior services –Medical rehabilitation –Camping and recreation I-3

6. ESPA, Transportation education creates a culture, accompanied by a coordinated set of practices, to connect students, families, educators, pupil transporters, and public transportation professionals to create a system by which students have knowledge, access, and choice regarding a continuum of transportation choices as they transition from school to postsecondary education, employment, and independent living settings

7. ESPA, Building an Accessible Transportation Continuum for Students with Disabilities to Support Transition Educators Safe Routes to Schools Pupil Transportation Public Transportation Interconnected Systems and People Students & Families http://www.saferoutesinfo. org/ http://www.napt.org/ http://www.apta.com/ http://www.dcdt.org/

8. ESPA, WHY CONSIDER TRANSPORTATION EDUCATION?

9. ESPA, Ready by 21 Insulated Pipeline College and Career Readiness FamiliesPeersCommunity Members ECD & Child After-School Civic, Social, Work Social & Strategic Placement Care Providers ProgramsOpportunitiesSupports& Coaching Transportation, Health, Mental Health, Housing, Financial http://www.readyby21.orghttp://www.readyby21.org/ Align Transportation Education With….

10. ESPA, Align Transportation Education With… Implementation of the Common Core Standards

11. ESPA, HOW CAN YOU IMPLEMENT TRANSPORTATION EDUCATION?

12. Intense Services -Travel Training; -Para transit eligibility -OT/PT/Behavioral Interventions Focused Transportation Assessments &Education -Travel Training Assessments -OT/PT Behavioral assessment -Travel Instruction - Familiarization District-Wide Transportation Education - Provide professional development to educators around accessible transportation supports - Engage families and students in transportation education in early grades - Integrate transportation content across grade levels and curriculum (ELA, Math, geography, etc.) - Rely on transit for community-based experiences - Invite transit into schools and programs - Establish linkages across educators, pupil transportation, and public transportation sectors - Provide travel instruction - orientation Moving up the Tiers  Less numbers of students  More defined service  Greater time & resource commitment  Specialized training and competence of providers A Tiered Approach to Transportation Education www.projectaction.org/intiatives/youth

13. ESPA, What Are you Doing at Each Tier? What Can you be Doing at Each Tier? TierCurrent ActivitiesFuture Activities What do you need to make it happen? 13 Use this tool across education and pupil transportation

14. ESPA, Here are some Ideas….Strategies to Integrate Accessible Transportation and Transition Services Engage families, students, and colleagues – hold a transportation summit –Invite students who use transit, businesses, Voc Rehab Conduct resource mapping of transportation resources & travel training services – shared services (church, school, business) Connect with transit organizations and mobility management systems –Federal Untied We Ride – www.unitedweride.gov Contribute to IEP goals around accessible transportation Conduct mobility assessments for students

15. ESPA, Strategies to Integrate Accessible Transportation and Transition Services Invite transit professionals into events Use & visit transit – field trips Embed transportation content into curriculum and instruction Look for grant opportunities to focus on accessible transportation Connect with local teacher education and rehabilitation preparation programs Integrate transportation content into professional development Understand travel instruction and its components Consider offering travel instruction services –Partner with human services organizations, transit agencies, State agencies

16. ESPA, Travel Instruction Travel instruction is the array, continuum, or family of services offered to individuals with disabilities, seniors, and others who need assistance to increase their mobility and travel on public transportation independently. Association on Travel Instruction (ATI) - http://www.travelinstruction.org/index.htmlhttp://www.travelinstruction.org/index.html

17. ESPA, Travel Instruction – Multi-tiered Process Travel Orientation –Individual or group activity conducted for the purpose of explaining the transportation system. Travel Familiarization –Individual or group activity to facilitate use of transportation systems with a travel trainer accompanying experienced traveler(s) on a new on a new mode of transportation or route to point out/explain features of access and usability. Think about your role, how can you contribute to:

18. ESPA, Travel Training One-to-one short-term instruction provided to an individual who has previously traveled independently and needs additional training or support to use a different mode of travel, a different route, mode of transit, or travel to a new destination - or - One-to-one comprehensive, specially designed instruction in the skills and behaviors necessary for independent travel on public transportation provided to an individual who does not have independent travel concepts or skills to go from point of origin of trip to destination and back http://www.travelinstruction.org/forms/ATIAugust2011DefinitionOfTravelTraining.pdf

19. ESPA, Considerations for Hiring a Travel Trainer Has the individual completed any structured course or training offered by a recognized vendor? Has the individual had experience in all phases of travel instruction? Does the individual have school-based travel instruction experience? If the individual has completed training, what was the performance of the individual in the course? Is this performance review documented? Does the individual have practical experience as a travel trainer? In what settings and with what populations? Has the individual worked with educators and contributed to transition planning? Is the individual experienced with the transit systems they will be instructing students to use? Does the individual belong to any professional associations, such as ATI, where they can receive ongoing professional development? http://www.projectaction.org/ResourcesPublications/BrowseOurResourceLibrary/ResourceSearc hResults.aspx?org=a2GSpnDbruI=&query=Considerations for Selecting and Hiring Travel Trainers

20. ESPA, Travel Training Assessment Planning for a trip Natural – Built environment – path of travel Boarding/deboarding Riding the bus Safety and Security Topics

21. Community-Based Instruction and the Transportation Plan! 2013 Project 10

22. What is CBI? Community-Based Instruction (CBI) is individual or small group instruction* that takes place in natural community environments and teaches life skills that increase competent functioning and enhance quality of life now and in the future. Community-Based Instruction (CBI) is individual or small group instruction* that takes place in natural community environments and teaches life skills that increase competent functioning and enhance quality of life now and in the future. * Supervision: 1:3 or less for students with severe disabilities and 1:6 or less for students with mild/moderate disabilities.

23. What is CBI? CBI is an instructional modification to address individual student’s IEP goals and objectives systematically and with sufficient frequency to ensure mastery.

24. Who Needs CBI? CBI is necessary for any student with a disability who has difficulty applying or generalizing skills from the classroom to natural environments.

25. How do we know how to ride a train...?

26. The 3 Domains of CBI Leisure and Recreation Leisure and Recreation General Community Functioning General Community Functioning Vocational Vocational (Community-Based Vocational Education, or CBVE)

27. CBI is NOT CBI is not a special activity, weekly class outing, or field trip CBI is not a special activity, weekly class outing, or field trip These may all be valid instructional activities, but must not be confused with community- based instruction, which is These may all be valid instructional activities, but must not be confused with community- based instruction, which is regularly scheduled regularly scheduled systematically instructed, and systematically instructed, and designed to meet the individual needs of students. designed to meet the individual needs of students.

28. Why do we use CBI? CBI is great for... Students Students Parents Parents Educational staff Educational staff The community The community

29. Stephen 17 years old 17 years old Nondisabled Nondisabled Lives with single parent Lives with single parent Attends high school Attends high school In a single, typical week, Stephen goes...

30. Home School Bus ChurchGrocery Store Beach Job @ Starbucks McDonald’s Birthday Party Bike Ride Friend’s House Walmart Movies YMCA Pizza Hut Skate Park

31. Jason 17 years old 17 years old Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism Spectrum Disorder Lives in a residential facility Lives in a residential facility Attends school in the same facility Attends school in the same facility In a single, typical week, Jason goes...

32. SchoolDormitory Leisure Room Dining Room Chapel

33. CBI allows us to go from this SchoolDormitory Leisure Room Dining Room Chapel

34. To this... Home School Bus ChurchGrocery Store Beach Job @ Starbucks McDonald’s Birthday Party Bike Ride Friend’s House Walmart Movies YMCA Pizza Hut Skate Park For all students

35. Course Objectives There are benchmarks requiring students to function in the community at all functioning levels There are benchmarks requiring students to function in the community at all functioning levels These standards are clearly reflected in the ESE course descriptions used in the VE Modified, S/C EBD, and Multi VE programs These standards are clearly reflected in the ESE course descriptions used in the VE Modified, S/C EBD, and Multi VE programs

36. Access Points Examples of context requirements: School Activities School Activities Real-World Situations Real-World Situations Real-World Settings Real-World Settings

37. How do we implement CBI? Procedures are clearly outlined in Volusia County Schools’ Special Programs and Procedures for Exceptional Students Handout: “Procedures for Community-Based Instruction”

38. Determine Student Need Parent and/or Student Survey: A. What environments do the student’s family and peers access? B. What are the student’s probable future environments? C. In what environments and activities does the student need instruction? D. Are there environments and activities in which the student is not able to participate? 1) What are the barriers to his/her participation? 2) What training/adaptations/modifications are needed to enable the student to participate?

39. Documenting CBI on the IEP Special Factors : “CBI” statement (“Student will receive instruction in the community…”) Special Factors : “CBI” statement (“Student will receive instruction in the community…”) Objectives requiring instruction in the community Objectives requiring instruction in the community Support Services: Special Education Services Support Services: Special Education Services  Special Instruction in Independent Functioning Setting: “Community” Setting: “Community”  Frequency should reflect average number of outings

40. Documenting CBI on the IEP Assessment/Participation/Placement: Assessment/Participation/Placement: CBI is considered time with nondisabled peers CBI is considered time with nondisabled peers Placement based on percentage with nondisabled peers Placement based on percentage with nondisabled peers

41. Emergency Procedures Emergency Procedures Plan must include A. Contact person at school B. “Student Locator” form C. Means of contact D. Emergency transportation E. Items to carry F. In case of emergency, who contacts parents? Who contacts school? Who contacts school?

42. Funding for Transportation Middle Schools: Middle Schools:  IDEA to purchase Votran tokens or other public transportation High Schools: High Schools:  CBI buses provided and funded through VCS Transportation Department  School activity buses, when applicable, also funded through VCS Transportation Department  Reimbursement for use of school vans through IDEA office

43. Determine Methods of Transportation Consider post-school outcomes – what methods of transportation will student need to access? Consider post-school outcomes – what methods of transportation will student need to access? If using school or private vehicle– If using school or private vehicle– Requirements through Risk Management when transporting students Requirements through Risk Management when transporting students Student Transportation Department procedures for driving school bus Student Transportation Department procedures for driving school bus Commercial Driver License through Transportation Commercial Driver License through Transportation Student Transportation Department Procedures: “Emergencies & Disasters / School Bus” “Student Supervision” “Student Injuries”

44. Developing CBI Instruction Monitor student data to determine progress and need for modifications or changes Monitor student data to determine progress and need for modifications or changes Both teacher and para carry out instruction, but teacher is responsible for planning and monitoring instruction Both teacher and para carry out instruction, but teacher is responsible for planning and monitoring instruction

45. ESPA, Promoting Travel Training and Transportation Education – Be Engaged! Join the accessible transportation for students (ATS) online community-http://www.espa-ncst.communityzero.com/atshttp://www.espa-ncst.communityzero.com/ats Sign up to receive all of ESPA notifications www.projectaction.orgwww.projectaction.org Use Project ACTION tools and materials http://www.projectaction.org/Initiatives/YouthTransportation.aspx http://www.projectaction.org/Initiatives/YouthTransportation.aspx Attend online Webinars – forming partnerships, advocacy, etc. Collaborate across disciplines –Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), Division on Career Development & Transition, National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT), National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services

46. ESPA, Florida State and Local Opportunities http://www.dot.state.fl.us/ctd/contacts/ctcsbycounty.ht mhttp://www.dot.state.fl.us/ctd/contacts/ctcsbycounty.ht m Pinellas –Travel Training - Riding the bus is easy, and PSTA offers free travel training. Call the InfoLine at (727) 540-1900 to get started. –Join Community Advisory Committees http://www.psta.net/TAC.php

47. ESPA, Contact Information Judy Shanley –jshanley@easterseals.comjshanley@easterseals.com –800-659-6428 –202-403-8354 Greg Akin –gpakin@volusia.k12.fl.us –386-258-4677