News & Updates
Updated regularly with important news and updates for our partners in pupil transportation
2024 Illegal Passing Survey
March 27, 2024
Minnesota will conduct its annual survey to document illegal passing of school buses on April 10 (April 17 if your school is not in session on 4/10).
The Minnesota State Patrol is requesting your assistance in this important project.
Please have your school bus drivers observe and report any instances of motorists illegally passing their school buses, using the “Driver Reporting Form.” Even drivers who have no “pass-by’s” on the day of the survey should turn in the form so that we can get accurate data on how many pass-by’s occur per day per bus.
As always, their primary duty is to the safety of their students. Please have your drivers report only illegal passes that occur while the bus driver is stopped with red warning lights flashing and stop arm(s) deployed in full compliance with state training and procedures.
Each district or operator is asked to delegate one person to collect the stats for your operation and submit the results using the following link no later than April 30, 2024 >> https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2024IllegalPassingSurvey
Locals Selected as NCST Delegates
April 8, 2024
The 2025 National Congress on School Transportation (NCST) will be held May 3-7, 2025 in Des Moines, Iowa. While it may seem far away, NCST activities are already in full swing.
The NCST was formed in 1939 and met regularly over the years to establish the “National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures.” In 1980, it was determined that Congress would be held every five years to approve revisions to the document.
In 1994, Minnesota adopted the design standards from the approved document as the base for our school buses. We have historically adopted these standards following each of the subsequent Congresses. The standards that will be approved at the 2025 Congress will automatically be implemented into our standards on August 1, 2026. During the 2021 legislative session, Minnesota also adopted the recommended Out-of-Service Criteria from the national standards.
Any individual or entity that wishes to submit a change request to any portion of the “National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures” must submit them by July 1, 2024. The request will be reviewed by the writing committees who will determine if they should be presented in front of the whole Congress for consideration. More information on this process can be found at: NASDPTS - NCST.
Each state is allowed to send a delegation of up to seven voting members to the Congress to vote on the change requests. These members will vote on behalf of the state with each state getting one vote. Our delegation for the 2025 congress includes:
- Brian Reu, State Director of Pupil Transportation
- Chris Hudson, Chief School Bus Inspector
- Amy Tiedens, ISD 287, MAPT
- Nick Klaseus, Disrict 391 Cleveland, MAPT
- Jason Anderson, Vision Transportation, MSBOA
- Paul Davis, St. Louis Park Transportation, MSBOA
- Kevin Lutz, ISD 196, MAPT & School Bus Technicians Association
Alternates:
- Kala Henkensiefken, ISD 31, MAPT
- John Thomas, Dist. 112, MAPT
- Kathryn Forbord, Schmitty & Sons, MSBOA
If you have any questions on the process, please review the NCST webpage or you can contact Lt. Brian Reu.
It's On! 2024 TTT Registration is Open
March 29, 2024
Get ready. Get set. Go!
Registration for the 2024 Train the Trainer is officially open and we can't wait to share all of the great things in store for participants this year.
National Congress on School Transportation
March 28, 2024
The National Congress on School Transportation (NCST) Steering Committee is preparing for the 17th Congress, which will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, May 3-7, 2025.
The changes approved at each National Congress on School Transportation are cataloged in the National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures (NSTSP) Manual.
The job of researching suggested changes to the National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures (NSTSP) falls to the assigned NCST Writing Committees, which are hard at work addressing proposed changes.
This is a reminder that the deadline for interested parties to submit change requests is June 1, 2024.
All change requests must be made and submitted on the 2025 Change Request Form found by clicking here in accordance with the form instructions to allow the Writing Committees time to review and properly research the proposals before the 2025 Congress.
Under the Congress’ procedures, the Writing Committee Chairs must notify all persons submitting change requests of the status of their respective requests following the committees’ deliberations and decisions.
This feedback to submitters must occur well before the on-site Congress.
Please direct any questions to Patrick McManamon, NCST Chairman, at ncstconference@gmail.com.