Who are we?

National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) was created in 1968. Our purpose is to provide leadership, assistance, and motivation to the nation’s school transportation community and industry. The Association works to ensure safe, secure, environmentally responsible, and cost effective transportation to school children and ensure their continued access to school and school related activities. Each state has an appointed “State Director” for pupil transportation. The appointees are either a part of their state’s education department or a state law enforcement or traffic safety agency.

The Association’s structure includes two Membership Councils:  State Transportation Associations Council (STAC) and Supplier Council (including its subsidiary, the School Bus Manufacturers Technical Council, the SBMTC).

Those who share our purpose and work in any phase of service to school transportation, but do not qualify for membership as a State Director or in any of the councils, may join NASDPTS as an Associate Member.

Descriptions of the membership categories and how to join NASDPTS can be found at HERE.

How do we work together?

The Association meets once a year at its annual conference to conduct business and professional development workshops. Business is also conducted throughout the year via Board meetings, web meetings, teleconferences, and email. Two contracted services providers, the Executive Director and the Administrative/Membership Services Director, are located in different states, as are the members of the Board of Directors.

The Chair of the Supplier Council Steering Committee and the Chair of SNAC each have a seat on the NASDPTS Board of Directors. The Supplier Council meets twice a year, once in the summer and again at the NASDPTS Annual Conference. SNAC and the SBMTC usually meet at the NASDPTS Annual Conference and at other times via web meetings or in person.

What groups do we work with – and why?

NASDPTS membership represents state and national leaders in student transportation, local administrators, suppliers of products and services, and grassroots practitioners. SNAC includes leaders from state and national associations. The Supplier Council encompasses the school bus original equipment manufacturers (OEM’s) and other suppliers of equipment and services from across the nation and Canada.

The focus of NASDPTS is on national and state policies and positions regarding school bus specifications, best practices, and procedures for school bus and student transportation.

As part of its leadership and policy role, NASDPTS chairs the Steering Committee of the National Congress on School Transportation (NCST) and appoints six members, two of whom are from the SBMTC. The NCST Steering Committee meets twice yearly to coordinate the work leading up to the National Congress, which meets every five years. The NCST and its delegates adopt updates to the National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures at each Congress.

NASDPTS works closely with federal agencies responsible for providing oversight and guidance in various aspects of student transportation. These agencies include the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US Department of Education (USDOE), and others. NASDPTS also works with agencies and associations at the state and local levels.

NASDPTS is represented on the American School Bus Council (ASBC), along with the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT), the National School Transportation Association (NSTA) and the three major school bus original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) which include:  Blue Bird Corporation, IC Bus, LLC and Thomas Built Buses, Inc.

ASBC promotes yellow school bus ridership to ensure students have equitable access to school, and are transported by the safest, most environmentally responsible means—the yellow school bus.