Conference Agenda
Prepare to immerse yourself in an enriching experience at the TSD Conference by exploring the full conference agenda below. Each day is packed with invaluable sessions designed to enhance your knowledge and skills in transporting students with disabilities and special needs. From insightful training workshops to thought-provoking discussions on best practices, you’ll find everything you need to plan your days effectively. Dive in now to customize your agenda and ensure you make the most of this exceptional opportunity for growth and collaboration.
November 4, 2026
Leadership Training
4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Transportation Director Summit - Day 1
Location: Frisco 7 (Doors open at 3:45 p.m.)
Speaker: Tony Corpin
Description: Join us at the TSD Conference where Transportation Directors come together for collaborative problem-solving, immersive learning, and networking discussions. This exclusive event empowers industry leaders to address top operational challenges, focusing on leadership, culture, and innovation. Be part of the platform shaping the future of school transportation.
Both day attendance is required. Transportation and lunch will be provided on Thursday.
Applications will be reviewed upon submission, and our team will follow up with confirmation. A pre-event survey must be completed in advance to participate.
November 5, 2026
Special Training
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
NHTSA Child Passenger Safety on School Buses National Training
Instructors: Susan Shutrump, Fred Doelker, Miriam Manary, Charlie Vits, Denise Donaldson, Kala Henkensiefken, Kathy Anneken, and Dennis Tate
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 preschool 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.
(Maximum of 50 participants. Separate registration and fees required.)
Leadership Training
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Transportation Director Summit - Day 2
Location: Omni PGA Frisco Resort (Bus Departs at 8 a.m.)
The Champion's Code: (4-Part Leadership Series)
Speaker: Ross Bernstein
Description: What distinguishes the truly exceptional athletes in the realm of sports. Discover how to harness effective leadership strategies in school transportation that are applicable both in competitive scenarios and in everyday life.
Both day attendance is required. Transportation and lunch will be provided on Thursday.
Applications will be reviewed upon submission, and our team will follow up with confirmation. A pre-event survey must be completed in advance to participate.
Welcome Party
7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Welcome Party at Topgolf the Colony
For Main Conference Attendees Only
Enjoy a fun evening of networking with school transportation professionals with food and drinks on the driving range!
Presented by
November 6, 2026
Welcome
8 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Conference Welcome
Location: Frisco 1
Keynote Speaker: Tony Corpin & Ryan Gray
Description: Kick off the conference with a welcome and overview. Learn about the agenda, educational sessions, key highlights, and opportunities for networking to help you make the most of your conference experience.
Keynote
8:30 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Promoting Independence and Reducing the Reliance on 1:1 Adult Support
Location: Frisco 1
Keynote Speaker: Patrick Mulick
Description: If our students are going to navigate the world as more independent adults, we must start building the bridge to autonomy today—and that bridge begins the moment they step onto the bus. Across the country, many districts are grappling with an over-reliance on 1:1 adults. While these positions are utilized with the best of intentions to ensure safety and stability, an intensive adult presence can unintentionally limit a student's growth and create significant operational and sustainability challenges for transportation departments. In this dynamic and content-rich keynote, school district administrator Patrick Mulick leads a systems-level discussion on rethinking how we support students during the most critical transitions of their school day. This session offers transportation directors, supervisors, and district leaders a practical blueprint for building sustainable support systems that prioritize student agency over adult proximity.
Sponsored by
Special Training
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Mastering Wheelchair & Occupant Securement Training Certification Class
At this training, 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 75 participants.
Presented by
General Session
10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
When Guidance is Incorrect or Missing
Location: Frisco 1
Speakers: Alex Robinson, Launi Harden & Sue Shutrump
Lunch & Learn
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch & Learn with Blue Bird: Fuel of Choice
Location: Frisco 1
Moderator: Stephen Whaley
Sponsored by
Special Training
12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Preschoolers & Conventional Car Seat in School Buses
Location: Frisco 8
Speaker: Denise Donaldson
General Session
1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Foundation of Special Needs Transportation
Location: Frisco 1
Speakers: Alex Robinson and Rosalyn Vann-Jackson
Description: Join this dynamic session to get all "the foundation" you need!
By the conclusion of the session participants will understand: The basic laws and regulations as they relate to transporting students with disabilities; Definitions used routinely in Special Education Transportation; The IEP Process; General operations guidelines and best practices; Where to go for resources on mandated services
Plus: our panel of operational experts will provide answers to all your challenging difficult special needs transport questions.
Special Training
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Wheelchair Securement Training | Special Needs Roadeo
Hosted by Q'Straint/Sure-Lok
Receive instruction from Q’Straint/Sure-Lok representatives on proper securement of wheelchairs in school buses. This class is a refresher class for TSD Roadeo contestants as well as main conference attendees.
Separate registration is NOT required
Presented by
Networking Event
4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Ride & Drive + Technology Demonstration
You're invited to join us at the Ride & Drive + Technology Demonstration Experience! This exciting event will showcase the latest innovations in green school buses and sustainable transportation solutions. Major school bus OEMs and technology companies will be on hand to display their cutting-edge products, from electric and propane school buses to dynamic routing solutions plus the latest in safety tech will be on display. As an attendee, you'll have the unique opportunity to explore these green buses, safety solutions and new technology firsthand.
Don’t miss the chance to engage with industry experts, discuss the future of sustainable transportation, and gain valuable insights into transitioning to cleaner, greener, and more efficient transportation options.
Drinks and food with be served.
November 7, 2026
Roadeo
8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Roadeo Competition
(Lunch served)
Team registration and a written test required. All participating driver and attendant teams must download and complete the Roadeo Competition Knowledge Test before arriving at the event. Bring a copy of the completed test to turn in on site. Are you passionate about special needs transportation, growing as a professional, and networking with others who do what you do from across the nation? Then form a team and plan to participate in this event! The Roadeo Competition, presented by School Transportation News in partnership with wit. (Women in Transportation.), consists of driver-attendant teams. There is no pre-requisite to participate. All are welcome, whether or not you have participated in another driver-attendant competition in your state or district. The goal of this competition is to help you increase your knowledge of transporting students with special needs.
Presented by
Welcome
8:15 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Morning Announcements
Location: Frisco 1
Speaker: Tony Corpin
Keynote
8:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Keynote: The Wheels of Justice: Important Case Law Impacting Transportation of Students with Disabilities
Keynote Speaker: Julie Weatherly
Description: Litigation in the area of special education has been increasing exponentially over the past few years. By examining real-world legal scenarios with court decisions, this session is designed to equip participants with knowledge needed to navigate the complexities of providing safe and equitable transportation for all students while remaining aware of potential legal vulnerabilities. Discussion of recent court decisions and their implications will include hot topics such as personal injury-type money damages in special education cases, student discipline issues, transportation as a related service, and service animal requests.
Special Training
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Hands-on School Bus Evacuations for Students with Special Needs & Preschoolers
Location: Prosper ISD
Instructors: Launi Harden, Frank Gazeley, Aaron Harris, & Kala Henkensiefken
Description: Join student transportation experts in a classroom setting to review best practices for a successful emergency evacuation of students with disabilities and preschooler, followed by an exercise on a school bus that mimics a real-life route that is servicing students with various physical disabilities as well as younger riders. Complicating the exercise will then be the introduction of fake smoke on the bus to hinder the visibility of attendees as the practice evacuating the “children” during a fire. The instructors will time the participants on how quickly they can evacuate the bus. The seminar will provide instruction on the proper evacuation of students who ride in wheelchairs and who use various child safety restraint systems. Tools used by participants will include evacuation and fire blankets, belt cutters and more. Held offsite at Prosper ISD. Bus transportation & lunch provided.
This seminar is available to as an add-on to Main Conference registration. Registration and fees required.
Maximum of 32 participants | Separate registration and fees required
Breakout Sessions
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Emergency Response in Transit
Location: Frisco 1
Speaker: Angie McDonald
13 Exceptional Abilities & School Transportation Safety
Location: Frisco 2
Best Practices for Implementing Shared Services
Location: Ranger-Sea Biscuit- Traveler
Speaker: Betty Ressel
Lunch & Learn
12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Lunch & Learn with Transfinder: Using Technology to Ensure Safe and Reliable Transportation for Students with Disabilities
Location: Frisco 1
Speakers: Panel discussion with transportation leaders and special needs personnel from around the country, moderated by Zachery Moren, Manager of Transfinder Sales Enablement & Engineering
Description: Transporting students with disabilities comes with unique challenges, from day-of changes to first-day chaos and even locating a missing student. This session will explore how an integrated technology platform can make operations safer, more efficient, and less stressful for staff, students, and families. Learn how routing, real-time communication, and real-time update tools can help your team respond quickly, keep students safe, and give parents peace of mind. Whether it's a typical day or an unfortunate incident we all prepare for.
Sponsored by
Breakout Sessions
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Head Start Transportation at a Crossroads
Location: Frisco 1
Extreme Behavior
Location: Frisco 2
Speaker: Teena Mitchell
Acuity on Wheels: Matching Staffing, Training and Equipment to Student Medical Needs
Location: Ranger-Sea Biscuit- Traveler
Speaker: Angie McDonald & Laura Blankenship
Description: A systems-level look at rising acuity, or the the intensity and complexity of care that a patient needs, alongside staffing considerations and why transportation needs to be part of the decision-making process from the start.
Breakout Sessions
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
What Wheelchair Crash Research Data Shows
Location: Frisco 1
Speaker: Miriam Manary
Proactive Crisis Intervention When Transporting Students with Disabilities: Planning Things Out to Avoid the Freakout
Location: Frisco 2
Speaker: Fred Doelker
Description: We’ve covered strategies for caring for some of our kiddos who demonstrate extreme behaviors, now let’s discuss using some proactivity to help drivers and attendants avoid some of their own extreme reactions and perhaps make things worse. We’ll cover some strategies and resources supervisors and their onboard team members can use to evaluate risks, improve their own self-regulation and be prepared for situations that we all know will appear. Let’s agree on what honestly is an imminent onboard threat and what’s just plain annoying. A proper choice there should help everyone go home safely at the end of the day with no regrets about their own behaviors.
Creating Workforce Stability When Serving Students with Disabilities
Location: Ranger-Sea Biscuit- Traveler
Speakers: Julius Caesar
November 8, 2026
Presentation
8:30 a.m. – 9 a.m.
Transportation Director of the Year Award Presentation
Sponsored by
General Session
9:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
General Session: American Sign Language for Student Transporters
Location: Frisco 1
Speakers: Rachella Moore & Ursa Rewolinski
Description: The session addresses common misconceptions about the d/hh community, highlights challenges in transportation accessibility, and shares solutions for safer, more inclusive transit systems. Participants will explore strategies for integrating ASL into regular transportation training and discuss ideas on how to collaborate with their district’s special education department. Together, we will practice routine ASL phrases to foster relationships and safety for all.
Breakout Sessions
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Supports for Student & Staff Mental Health
Location: Frisco 1
A Superintendent's Perspective on the Importance of Transporting Students Who Are At-Risk
Location: Ranger-Sea Biscuit- Traveler
Speaker: Nicole Portee
Lunch & Learn
12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Lunch & Learn: Fireside Chat with Modern Student Transportation Leaders on Special Needs Transportation
Location: Frisco 1
Sponsored by
Breakout Sessions
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
AI, IEPs, ITPs & Protecting Student Data
Location: Frisco 1
Speakers: Nneka McGee w/ Glenna Gallo, Alex Robinson & Rosalyn Vann-Jackson
Sensory Processing Disorders & Impacts on Behavior in Transportation Settings
Location: Ranger-Sea Biscuit- Traveler
Speaker: Sue Shutrump
Trade Show
3:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Trade Show + Tailgate Reception
This special networking event takes place on the trade show floor and enables exhibitors to highlight products and services. Attendees & Exhibitors can connect in a more relaxed atmosphere, complete with food and drink stations spread out on the trade show floor.
November 9, 2026
Keynote
8 am – 9:45 am
When the Floor Moves: Navigating Federal Restructuring, Flexible Funding, and Legal Obligations in Transporting Students with Disabilities
Location: Frisco 1
Speaker: Glenna Wright-Gallo
Description: The federal landscape for special education transportation has changed more in the past 18 months than in the prior decade. The Department of Education has signed 14 interagency agreements, moving operational management of IDEA, Title programs, and civil rights enforcement to HHS, DOL, and DOJ, while student rights and district obligations under IDEA remain intact. Budgets are flat, driver shortages persist, and service demands for students with disabilities are growing. But within that pressure, real funding flexibility exists, with some of it going unused. This session draws on the career of a former U.S. Assistant Secretary for OSERS and current policy leadership at Everway to give transportation directors a clear-eyed, jargon-free briefing on: What the federal restructuring actually changed and what it did not; the legal obligations that run from birth through age 22 and where the documentation gaps are; and six funding streams beyond the standard pupil transportation budget that districts are consistently leaving on the table. Attendees will leave with a framework for identifying who in their district needs to be in the room, and a conversation starter for Monday morning.
Sponsored by
Breakout Sessions
10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
How Are You Using the National School Transportation Specifications?
Location: Frisco 1
Speaker: Alex Robinson
Protecting Students from Sexual Assault and Abuse
Location: Ranger-Sea Biscuit-Traveler
Speakers: Bret Brooks & Alexandra Robinson
Breakout Sessions
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Building a Collaborative Relationship With Transportation/SPED Department
Location: Frisco 1
Speaker: Taylor Ekbatani
Description: Hear from the current 2026 Transportation Director of the Year and their ESC supervisor on how to collaborate and build lasting relationships cross department.
Implementing a Travel Training Program
Location: Ranger-Sea Biscuit-Traveler
Speaker: Megan Elsberry
Lunch
12:15 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Lunch on your Own
Breakout Sessions
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
OT/PT/Transporter Forum: Busting the Myths Behind Student Transportation Safety
Speakers: Laura Blankenship, Kala Henkensiefken, Miriam Manary, & Sue Shutrump
Description: Got a policy or procedure that's stuck around just because "we've always done it that way"? Chances are it's based on a longstanding myth. Join us for a lively, interactive session where we hunt down the biggest myths in transporting students with disabilities, trace how they snuck into our guidelines, standards, and training in the first place, and blow them up with real strategies from real practitioners. Come ready to swap your best myth-busting wins!
Breakout Sessions
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Attendant Training
Location: Ranger/Sea Biscuit/Traveller
Speakers: Launi Harden with Teena Mitchell
November 10, 2026
Big Ideas and TSD Takeaways
8 am – 10 am
Twists, Turns & Modifications: A Scenario-based Workshop for Achieving Safety, Compliance & Best Practices in Transportation
Location: Frisco 1
Speakers: Teena Mitchell, Launi Harden, Kala Henkensiefken, Laura Beth Blankenship