Accessible Transportation: Collaboration between Education and Transit to Facilitate Access to Programs across Disability Judy L. Shanley, Dir. Student Engagement & Mobility Management, Easter Seals Project ACTION Cynthia McCauley, Executive Director, Chautauqua Learn and Serve, Bay District Schools, Florida The National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP) Webinar August 2012

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Today’s Agenda Overview of Easter Seals Project ACTION Discussion regarding Federal Initiatives and Mobility Management – Leveraging Coalitions Descriptions of Human Services – Education – Transit Connections Learning about ESPA Inclusive Transportation Service-Learning Program Hearing from the field - The Chautauqua Experience Discussion & Questions: What are you doing in your community?

Easter Seals Project ACTION (ESPA) Mission: promote universal access to transportation for people with disabilities… Supports Transportation Precepts of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Begun by Congress twenty three years ago to build bridges of understanding between the Transportation and Disability Community Cooperative Agreement funded by the Federal Transit Administration and Administered by Easter Seals Aligned with Easter Seals work to improve the lives of children, youth, and adults with disabilities

Four Functional Areas to Help Local Organizations Build Accessible Transportation Capacity Training Events – travel training, webinars, online training Technical Assistance – 800#, , in-person coalition building events Applied Research – fund catalyst and gap filling programs to stimulate academic inquiry and leverage new product development Outreach – build awareness & create partnerships

A Poll What is your experience with Project ACTION? 1.Project ACTION is a must have resource - I participate in ESPA events, trainings, and use products! 2.I have heard of Project ACTION – and that’s about it 3.I am so excited to learn more about Project ACTION and can’t wait to find out about events, trainings, and products!

Voices from Youth I feel like I am independent. I don’t need to depend on my mom and dad to take me places. Now I can ride the bus to get to my job and to the movies with my friends These are some of the reactions from youth and adults with disabilities who have gained independence and mobility due to the simple fact that they can now get a ride to work, school, the mall or the library.

United We Ride Federal interagency initiative Established in 2004 by Executive Order, the Federal Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM) - 60 Federal programs that fund services for transportation- challenged populations Improve the availability, quality, and efficient delivery of transportation services Transportation plays a critical role in providing access Transportation services are often fragmented, underutilized, or difficult to navigate

Person-Directed Mobility Management Mobility management works at the community level by ensuring that transportation is accessible and the pathways to transportation are accessible Focus on individualized customer markets Coordinate service delivery Design and manage a transportation infrastructure

A Poll - What do you Know about Accessible Transportation in your Community? Think about the various transportation providers in your community. What do you know about the services they provide? 1. I know the transportation providers and their services 2. I know the transportation providers, but, not much about their services 3. I don’t know much about either the transportation providers or their services and can’t wait to learn more!

Aligning Transportation Education with Educational & Community Reforms College and Career Readiness Common Core District & School Curricular and Programs Community & Experiential Education

READY BY 21 INSULATED PIPELINE College and Career Readiness FamiliesPeersCommunity Members ECD & Child After-School Civic, Social, Work Social & Strategic Placement Care Providers ProgramsOpportunitiesSupports& Coaching Transportation, Health, Mental Health, Housing, Financial Why is Transportation Education Important to Students, Families, Educators, and Schools?

Why is Transportation Education Important to Students, Families, Educators, and Schools? Implementation of the Common Core Standards

A POLL Are the services you provide affected by the common core standards? 1.Yes 2.No

Strategies to Integrate Accessible Transportation and Transition Services Conduct resource mapping of transportation resources & travel training services Learn about mobility management and coordinated planning in your community Ensure IEP goals around accessible transportation Invite transit professionals into events Use & visit transit – field trips Embed transportation content into curriculum and instruction Integrate transportation content into professional development

Engage Transportation Stakeholders Invite pupil and public transportation professionals to your meetings, event, IEPs. –National Association for Pupil Transportation –American Public Transportation Association Organize events to address a continuum of transportation – across education, pupil transportation, and community transportation Use public transit for work experience & field trips Use school-provided services to emulate public transit

Share your Successes Regarding Transit- Connections… Present at events Communicate with district and community Write articles and stories Document your work – incorporate stories in news briefs and reports Participate in national programs

Use the chat function to share examples of your work around accessible transportation Share your stories via the Accessible Transportation for Students (ATS) Online Community – Share Your Stories

Inclusive Transportation Service- Learning Program Program Goals –Increase student awareness & use of accessible transportation –Enhance student self-advocacy & choice –Extend inclusion in school and community Participants –Five school districts –Urban & rural –Student-directed projects –Small grant provided to district

About Chautauqua Comprised of two programs-a transition school for individuals with disabilities ages –18-22 and –AmeriCorps VISTA program Founded in 2005, Chautauqua is a service learning evolution of Bay High School Emphasis on transit and mobility Partner with higher education Characterized by an Inclusive learning environment

Informed by pre and post survey – Data driven Follows the service learning methodology: preparation, action reflection and celebration Facilitative -all are learners and teachers-teacher, students (regular ed & special ed) and seniors High school students will have IEP goals (challenged) or dual-enrolled service learning goals-all related to transit Elementary students will see a model for inclusion and friendship Learning is hands on and concrete Our Project with Project ACTION

Project called "Grandparents, Parks, Picnics, and Public Transportation“ Goal - expand the concept of mobility through a shared reality. High school students with and without disabilities created a coloring book, highlighting restaurants and public parks served by the trolley High school students will work with elementary students to create an invitation for grandparents or senior friend Seniors will ride the trolley to a park and have picnic with students All groups will be diverse and inclusive in all dynamics Service-Learning Project with Project ACTION Grandparent and student

Awarded the 2011 Global Call to Action Award, selected by Nobel Peace Laureates Participate in national and International events and presentations Sharing Our Success Chautauqua Community Presentation Trip to Egypt for IYNS Conference

Are there challenges related to supporting the use of public transit? –How did you address these challenges? –What words of advice would you have for colleagues who want to start programs on transit- related service-learning projects? Let’s Talk….

Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report on Transition Limited access to reliable public transportation to and from employment programs and service providers – especially in rural areas – was also frequently highlighted as a major challenge Better Federal Coordination Could Lessen Challenges in the Transition from High School GAO , Jul 12, 2012

Promoting Travel Training and Transportation Education – Be Engaged! Join the accessible transportation for students (ATS) online community- Sign up to receive all of ESPA notifications Attend online Webinars – forming partnerships, advocacy, etc. Use Global Travel Training Community (GTTC) as a platform for information sharing – dialogue – strategy development – invite others! Collaborate across disciplines –Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), Division on Career Development & Transition, National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT)

Resources Travel Training for School Success High school curriculum Pictorial guide: You Can Ride Brochure: Rights & Responsibilities of Transit Customers with Disabilities ADA Bookmark Competencies for the Practice of Travel Training and Instruction ESPA training: Introduction to Travel Training Course (scheduled at several times and in various cities annually) Impact, Feature Issue on Meeting Transportation Needs of Youth and Adults with Developmental Disabilities. ICI U of Minnesota NICHCY publication -

Contact Information Judy Shanley – – Cynthia McCauley –