Network Design Analysis for Special Needs Student Services

	NETWORK DESIGN ANALYSIS FOR SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENT SERVICES
	Scott Mason, Ph.D. Department of Industrial Engineering University of Arkansas 4207 Bell Engineering Center Fayetteville, AR 72701 Phone: (479)575-5521 Fax: (479)575-8431 mason@uark.edu Edward A. Pohl, Ph.D. Department of Industrial Engineering University of Arkansas 4207 Bell Engineering Center Fayetteville, AR 72701 Phone: (479)575-6042 Fax: (479)575-8431 epohl@uark.edu
	July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010
	This proposed effort builds on our prior years’ of investigation into public school forced transfer busing by focusing on a new, critically important area: the busing of special needs and medically fragile students. Our research will be one of the first studies specifically focusing on special needs student services and busing. Our findings will provide methods of maintaining administration-based financial performance measures associated with transportation while simultaneously demonstrating the benefits of smarter network design in terms of the assignment of special needs services to schools according to student proximity and needs. We believe that currently, the assignment of student services to schools does not take into account student geographical constraints. Customers of this research include any public education districts with special needs students, some of whom are already engaged for data and consultation time/expertise.
	TRB Keywords: Transportation operations; Routing; Heuristic methods
	Product: In Progress (MBTC DOT - 3019)