United We Ride is a national campaign launched by the Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility to implement Executive Order #13330 issued by [former] President Bush in February 2004. The Executive Order requires ten federal departments to work together to enhance transportation access, minimize duplication of federal services, and facilitate the most appropriate, cost-effective transportation allowed with existing federal resources.
It is vitally important that organizations providing transportation services to
Head Start children fully understand the regulatory requirements
involved when committing to service provision. For a copy of the
Head Start Transportation Regulation visit http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/Program%20Design%20and%20Management/Head%20Start%20Requirements/Head%20Start%20Requirements/1310.
Head Start, created in 1965 and authorized under the Head Start Act, is a national program that provides comprehensive child development services primarily to low-income children (ages 3 to 5) and their families, with a special focus on helping children develop the early literacy and numeracy skills they need to succeed in school. In 1994, the Early Head Start program was authorized in response to mounting evidence that the earliest years, from birth to age 3, matter a great deal to a child’s growth and development. Early Head Start provides services to infants and children from birth to age 3 as well as to pregnant women. Program regulations require that 10 percent of program enrollment opportunities be made available to children with disabilities.
Under the authority of sections 640(i) and 645A(b)(9) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9801 et seq.), the final Head Start transportation regulation was published in the Federal Register (66 FR 5296) on January 18, 2001 with full implementation targeted by January 18, 2006.
This regulation, under 45 CFR part 1310.10, states that each Head Start agency must assist as many families as possible who need transportation in order for their children to attend the program in obtaining that transportation. Agencies have the option of providing Transportation Services, or providing reasonable assistance to Head Start families to arrange transportation to and from its activities.
Transportation Services are defined in the regulation as the planned transporting of children to and from sites where an agency provides services funded under the Head Start Act. Transportation services can involve the pick-up and discharge of children at regularly scheduled times and pre-arranged sites, including trips between children’s homes and program settings. Incidental trips, such as transporting a sick child home before the end of the day, or such as might be required to transport small groups of children to and from necessary services, are not included under the term.
The term includes services provided directly by the Head Start and Early Head Start grantee or delegate agency and services, which such agencies arrange to be provided by another organization or an individual. When an agency provides transportation through another organization or an individual, the agency must ensure the compliance of the transportation provider with the requirements of this regulation.
The Head Start transportation regulation reinforces new opportunities for transportation coordination. The regulation requires that Head Start agencies make reasonable attempts to coordinate transportation resources with other human services agencies in their communities in order to control costs and to improve the quality and the availability of transportation services. At a minimum Head Start agencies must 1) identify the true cost of providing services for comparison purposes, 2) examine the option of participating in existing coordinated public or private transportation systems, and 3) if no coordinated system exists, work with other human service agencies providing transportation, where reasonable, to form a local transportation coordinating council.
Head Start agencies providing transportation services are required to transport enrolled children in school buses or allowable alternate vehicles. It should be noted that vans may not be used for this transportation purpose. These vehicles, when not being used to provide transportation services for children enrolled in Head Start may be used to transport older adults, people with disabilities, or to provide a broader level of community transportation service.
Since these regulations were issued, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued regulations for a vehicle called a Multifunction School Activity Bus, or MFSAB. This vehicle is constructed and equipped to school bus construction and crashworthiness standards, but lacks the school bus traffic control devices of four-way/eight way flashing lights and a stop arm. The Head Start regulations also require that vehicles be equipped with specific safety and emergency equipment (see 1310.10 General). The MFSAB meets the Head Start definition of an allowable alternate vehicle, but may not be used for traditional school bus transportation (see http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/rulings/buspedsafety/SchoolbussFinal_07-21-2003.html#secVI).
The MFSAB is currently on the market and in use by Head Start programs, childcare centers, and other programs. Most large school bus manufacturers offer this type of vehicle, which may be purchased with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds*. In addition to meeting the NHTSA crashworthiness standards, the vehicle must also meet operational testing standards. Two important points to remember when purchasing an MFSAB with FTA funding:
- Federal law requires that vehicles purchased with FTA funds may only be of models that have been tested at the FTA Altoona Bus Research and Testing Center. This testing is targeted for operational functions of the vehicle. Information on the bus testing facility, including lists of tested models, may be found on-line at www.vss.psu.edu/BTRC.htm.
Altoona testing does not examine any of the NHTSA requirements
concerning crashworthiness.
- FTA funded equipment may not be used for
charter bus or traditional school bus service (e.g.,
transportation between home and school for students from
kindergarten through twelfth grade). These FTA rules are codified
at 49 CFR Parts 604 and 605.
- FTA funded vehicles must meet all applicable requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (49 CFR Part 37).
Head Start agencies providing transportation services must ensure that children are seated in height and weight appropriate restraint systems. In addition to new options in vehicles, NHTSA recently released a regulation allowing the use of harnesses in school buses and the MFSAB. These web-type harnesses attach to the vehicle seat back, and do not include a hard plastic body. This type of restraint system can be a valuable asset when vehicles are used to provide services to multiple populations during the course of a day (e.g., storage, proper installation, etc.). The seat directly behind children in safety restraints must either contain restrained passengers or remain unoccupied for safety purposes. For more information, see http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/04-5168.htm.
There must be at least one bus monitor on board at all times, with additional bus monitors provided as necessary, such as when needed to accommodate the needs of children with disabilities. Bus monitors are on board to help ensure the safety of the very young children enrolled in Head Start programs. They assist children in boarding and exiting the vehicle and in the use of child restraint systems. They must be trained in assisting the children, in emergency response, emergency evacuation procedures, and use of special equipment, child pick-up and release procedures and pre- and post-trip vehicle checks. Head Start funds can be used to pay for bus monitors.
Helpful Web Sites:
To learn more about Head Start, visit http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/
To find more information about the Federal Transit Administration grant programs and requirements, visit, http://www.fta.dot.gov/25_ENG_HTML.htm.
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration contains information related to the transportation of young children. Of particular interest is the section on the proper use of child restraint systems on school buses at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/buses/busseatbelt/index.html.
The FTA Altoona Bus Research and Testing Center has information on the bus testing facility, including lists of tested models at www.vss.psu.edu/BTRC.htm.
The Community Transportation Association of America in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Transit Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation maintain the Information Station, http://www.ctaa.org/ntrc/, “Coordination” Information Station Topics..
School Transportation News has a section on
Head Start that provides additional resources and helpful
information at http://www.stnonline.com/stn/headstart/index.shtml.
Learn more about “United We Ride” at www.unitedweride.gov
February 7, 2005
