Using School Bus Discipline Referral Data in Decision Making: Two Case Studies

Abstract

Public schools are responsible for providing a safe, structured environment that is conducive to learning. This requirement encompasses a variety of settings, including school bus transportation. However, limited research exists to indicate best practices for designing and implementing behavior programs for school bus transportation. The availability of bus discipline referrals provides an ideal source of information on bus-related discipline needs. This article describes 2 examples of using bus discipline referrals to identify discipline concerns and possible support needs. First, a district-wide assessment of bus discipline referrals is presented. Second, the results of an assessment of school-wide needs of a single elementary school are presented. Additionally, the patterns from the district-wide assessment and school assessment are compared and contrasted to determine concerns specific to a school that may not be addressed through a district-based behavior intervention. Implications for data-based decision-making are discussed.

Keywords:

• bus discipline referrals
• data decision making
• proactive referrals