Board and exit the school bus using the steps and handrail
When to use this goal
For students who need to be lifted onto the bus, who stop traffic on the steps, or who cannot manage the tall first step and the handrail together. Base the choice on observation at arrival and dismissal during baseline; bus steps are taller than school stairs and often the hardest stairs a student meets.
- Baseline
- Observe three arrivals and three dismissals and mark each step. The bus driver or bus aide can report steps the school staff cannot see. Note the step height on this student's bus and whether the student descends facing forward or backward; backward descent may be safer for some students and the PT should decide.
- Tips
- Coordinate with transportation staff; they see the behavior twice a day. Practice on a parked bus if the district allows it. For students with a lift bus, the steps change to lift procedures, which the PT should write.
- Limits
- Bus models differ in step height; a substitute bus changes the task. Weather (ice, rain) changes safety and the data. Students with significant physical needs may use a lift as the permanent method, which is not a failed goal.
Original IEP Atlas template based on general measurement principles; not copied from any goal bank. ID mt-gm-020.
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Goal
By the annual IEP review date, when boarding and exiting the school bus at arrival and dismissal, the student will complete the steps of boarding and exiting the bus with the handrail, performing at least 6 of 7 steps independently, on 4 of 5 consecutive observed bus trips, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected daily for one week each month.
Baseline: 2 of 7 steps independently.
- Condition
- Observable behavior
- Criterion
- Measurement method
Measurability check11 of 11 met
Met: Observable behavior. Stated as an action.
Met: Condition. Stated.
Met: Unit fits the behavior. Task-analysis steps fits this behavior.
Met: Explicit criterion. Number and unit stated.
Met: Mastery rule and schedule. Both stated.
Met: Method produces the metric. Task-analysis checklist gives task-analysis steps data.
Met: Review timeframe. Stated.
Met: Baseline and target compatible. Same unit, change in the right direction.
Met: Aligned with area of need. Still about Gross Motor Skills.
Met: Level of support. Defined.
Met: Blanks filled in. Nothing left to fill in.
Checks structure and wording only. Whether the goal fits the student is the team's call.
Short-term objectives (optional)
When are objectives required?Required for students on alternate assessments (34 CFR §300.320(a)(2)(ii)); some states require them for everyone.
Paste into your IEP system
Most district systems have a separate box for each part of a goal. Copy them one at a time, or all at once as labeled text.
- Area of need
- Motor & Sensory Skills (OT, PT & Adapted PE) - Gross Motor Skills
- Baseline
- 2 of 7 steps independently.
- Annual goal356 characters
- By the annual IEP review date, when boarding and exiting the school bus at arrival and dismissal, the student will complete the steps of boarding and exiting the bus with the handrail, performing at least 6 of 7 steps independently, on 4 of 5 consecutive observed bus trips, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected daily for one week each month.
- Timeframe
- By the annual IEP review date
- Condition
- When boarding and exiting the school bus at arrival and dismissal
- Behavior
- The student will complete the steps of boarding and exiting the bus with the handrail
- Criteria
- Performing at least 6 of 7 steps independently, on 4 of 5 consecutive observed bus trips
- Evaluation method
- A task-analysis checklist
- Schedule
- Daily for one week each month
Copied as plain text, with straight quotes and plain dashes.
Matching data sheet
Task-analysis checklist. Marks each step in each session.
Task-analysis checklist
Task-analysis steps- Student label:
- Target:
- performing at least 6 of 7 steps independently
- Mastery rule:
- on 4 of 5 consecutive observed bus trips
- Collection schedule:
- daily for one week each month
- Method:
- Task-analysis checklist
- Data collector:
Goal: By the annual IEP review date, when boarding and exiting the school bus at arrival and dismissal, the student will complete the steps of boarding and exiting the bus with the handrail, performing at least 6 of 7 steps independently, on 4 of 5 consecutive observed bus trips, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected daily for one week each month.
Key: I completed independently · S completed with support (note prompt type, e.g., G gesture, V verbal, M model, P physical) · N not completed
| Step | Session 1 Date: | Session 2 Date: | Session 3 Date: | Session 4 Date: | Session 5 Date: | Session 6 Date: | Session 7 Date: | Session 8 Date: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Waits at the curb until the bus stops and the door opens | ||||||||
| 2. Grasps the handrail with one hand before stepping up | ||||||||
| 3. Climbs each bus step with one foot per step, holding the rail | ||||||||
| 4. Walks down the aisle to the assigned seat and sits | ||||||||
| 5. Stands and walks to the front when the bus stops at school | ||||||||
| 6. Grasps the handrail and descends each step facing forward | ||||||||
| 7. Steps onto the curb and moves away from the bus | ||||||||
| Steps independent (I) | ||||||||
| Initials / notes |
Preview shows 4 of 12 rows.
- Write the date at the top of each session column. Mark each step I, S, or N.
- Total the number of I marks for the session. The goal counts steps completed independently (target: 6 of 7).
- Use the least intrusive prompt first and record the prompt actually needed.
The CSV opens in Excel or Google Sheets, with formulas. Sheets print blank; no student data is stored.