Supervising Children on Head Start Buses
Head Start transportation teams have an important job. Each day, safe and reliable transportation services can be a child’s first interaction with Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
Head Start transportation teams have an important job. Each day, safe and reliable transportation services can be a child’s first interaction with Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
Many young children are seriously injured or killed in motor vehicle crashes. Using a car seat reduces the risk of death in passenger vehicles by 71 percent for infants younger than age 1 and by 54 percent for toddlers ages 1 to 4. Early education staff can use these flip charts to help families learn how to keep their child safe in a motor vehicle.
This rule finalizes the provisions of the proposed rule published on May 30, 2006 and responds to public comments received as a result of the proposed rule. This final rule authorizes approval of annual waivers, under certain circumstances, from two provisions in the current Head Start transportation regulation (45 CFR part 1310): the requirement that each child be seated in a child restraint system while the vehicle is in motion, and the requirement that each bus have at least one bus monitor on board at all times. Waivers would be granted when the Head Start or Early Head Start grantee demonstrates that compliance with the requirement(s) for which the waiver is being sought will result in a significant disruption to the Head Start program or the Early Head Start program and that waiving the requirement(s) is in the best interest of the children involved. The rule also revises the definition of child restraint system in the regulation to remove the reference to weight which now conflicts with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
In a Head Start program, the bus is not just a vehicle to transport children; it is also a learning environment. This article can be used by classroom teachers to further their understanding of creating age-appropriate activities for children who ride the bus. The classroom teacher can help transportation staff become a resource for the classroom; likewise, transportation staff can be an integral part of the classroom.
Families depend on programs to keep their children safe at all times. This includes when they travel to and from the program by bus. This sample sign-in sheet has a written attendance log that staff and family members can sign every time a child gets on and off the bus. There is also a space on the sheet for a photo of each child. The photos help staff with name-to-face recognition, so they always release the right child to an authorized adult. These simple injury prevention strategies can help staff account for all children who ride the bus.
Head Start transportation teams have an important job. Each day, safe and reliable transportation services can be a child’s first interaction with Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Not only do transportation teams have to ensure that buses are safe and routes run on time, they also must supervise children. This webinar may help transportation teams identify strategies for meeting some of the many challenges they experience every day.
This page provides policy and regulations, as well as helpful information about transportation in Early Head Start and Head Start programs.
Local child care programs and school systems that provide transportation services are responsible for ensuring that children with special needs are safely transported on all forms of federally approved transportation. Program directors and transportation personnel can refer to this article for recommendations to consider when developing plans to provide the most current and proper support to children with special transportation requirements.
It is never safe for a child to be in or around a vehicle without adult supervision. During the warmer months of the year, unattended children left in cars are more likely to suffer heat-related illnesses. Children also may suffer injury when playing alone around parked vehicles. Program staff and parents can use this resource to learn more about car safety practices that keep young children healthy.
Head Start programs that provide transportation services should consider communication skills training to increase the efficiency of their transportation staff. Program directors and transportation supervisors may use this resource to identify training issues that impact the quality of transportation services.