CONCORD, N.C. – Expert panels presented by major school bus manufacturers at the Green Bus Summit centered on the theme of industry flexibility and resilience amid questions about the future of federal funding.

Blue Bird: The Right Bus for the Right Route: Managing Mixed Fleets

Luke Patrick, director of maintenance and training for the South Carolina Department of Education, oversees a fleet of 5,620 electric, propane, gasoline and diesel school buses. Electric school buses, he said, are purchased using government funding, operate on shorter metro routes, and are placed on routes where depot facilities already have power on site. Propane has been good for the state because of reduced maintenance costs and gasoline buses are used sparsely in more remote areas.

No matter the fuel, he said good working relationships are needed with districts so implementation goes smoothly.

Stephen Whaley, eastern alternative fuels manager for Blue Bird, reviewed the current powertrain energy options of diesel, gasoline, propane and electric as well as their acquisition price tags and approximate range. Most school bus down time results from diesel aftertreatment requirements, he reminded.

Over 2,000 Blue Bird electric school buses are deployed in 42 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces, shared Brad Beauchamp, the OEM’s EV product segment leader. “We’re continuing to evolve this product to give you better range,” he confirmed.

He added that a DC fast charge solution is better than Level 2 AC, but a yard planning option is best for long-term fleet electrification goals.

Tom Hopkins, business development manager for drivetrain manufacturer and longtime Blue Bird propane partner ROUSH CleanTech, reviewed the cost savings that buses running on safe, clean, domestically produced, affordable propane Autogas produce compared to diesel.

Whaley reviewed the easy-to-implement and scalable propane infrastructure. While alternative fuel tax credits are generally available, he said he’s not sure they will be renewed by Congress. Even without those incentives, those fueling and maintenance cost savings add up to a savings over diesel, he added.

CowFartBus: A Zero Carbon Alternative for Existing Diesel Buses

Robert Friedman, managing director for CowFartBus powered by Demi Diesel Displacer and Neufuel, explained the company’s mission of converting existing diesel school buses to run on one tank of renewable natural gas (RNG) and another of diesel. There’s no compromise in vehicle or fleet logistics and no need to buy new buses, he said.

He added that Renewable natural gas fueling pressure is lower than regular CNG, so the affordable filling station is simply 2-feet by 2-feet. The bus can still run solely on diesel, if needed. He explained that 26 buses can be converted to CowFartBus for the price of one new electric school bus, resulting in optimal sustainability.

Friedman confirmed the refitted buses’ durability in harsh altitude and weather conditions, as they are being used in multiple districts including Eagle County School District in Colorado, which has six of these buses and is adding eight more with plans to convert the whole fleet.

“We’ve been so happy with this system and see the promise in it,” said Joe Reen, the district’s executive director of operations.

He relayed that the budget is tight with a driver shortage necessitating that 20 buses each run about 100 miles a day in rapidly changing altitude and weather conditions. But the buses do not experience power loss. Even 30-year bus drivers like them, he shared.

Some community members desire greater environmental sustainability while others want cost savings, and CowFartBus hits both those points, he said. It was a good alternative for his district, Reen added, since electric doesn’t work for their region.

“There’s not a single silver bullet,” Friedman agreed.

Luke Patrick, director of maintenance and training for the South Carolina Department of Education, oversees transportation of 170,000 students a day on 5,620 buses with an average route length of 70 miles, consuming 11 million gallons of fuel per year. He said a big draw for the state was that the RNG complements diesel but doesn’t replace it. Charleston School District near the coast is currently running two CowFartBuses, and Patrick said he is looking to acquire 50 more.

Both districts reported high satisfaction levels from the drivers, which is good news for driver retention efforts.

Friedman recommended converting older buses if manufacturer warranty is a concern but confirmed that CowFartBus covers the warranty on buses they convert. “Our longest running bus has 800,000 miles on it,” CowFartBus Director Sam Johnson added.

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Maintenance Tools from IC Bus

Regional Sales Manager Marc Trucby reviewed updated aspects of OnCommand Connection, a platform that comes standard on all IC buses since 2023 and collects vehicle health data through factory or aftermarket telematics devices.

He also shared information about a prospecting tool that helps districts find green bus funding and a partnership with Sourcewell for streamlining the RFP and bid process.

Gregory Baze, IC’s national account manager for parts, discussed the Repairlink solution that is designed to provide school bus repair shops with 24/7 online parts ordering. It gives technicians an easy way to connect with dealers and suppliers for fast, accurate parts sourcing and communications.

The new addition helps school bus technicians more efficiently search for and reorder the parts they need from a larger inventory selection, he explained. A VIN-based catalog, saved shopping carts, price comparisons and coupon discounts are additional benefits.

“You are essentially your own dealer looking up your parts,” he said.

Attendees asked about various aspects of placing orders and Baze provided details on how school bus mechanics and technicians can do so.

For security purposes, districts can only enter information for school buses they own and operate and save the data into the system so they can shop by bus for any specific parts it needs. Baze confirmed that contracted buses are also eligible for Repairlink and that customer service can work with districts to complete this.

“We do a lot beyond buses,” Baze concluded.

Thomas Built Buses: ICE – The Future Outlook for Traditional & Alternate Fuels in School Buses

Thomas Built Buses General Sales Manager Jim Crowcroft stated that diesel is still very much a part of the school bus landscape.

Luke Patrick, director of maintenance and training for the South Carolina Department of Education, shared that his fleet is over 80 percent diesel due to needed range. It also contains over 500 propane buses, which he said have about half the range but lower operating costs and fewer maintenance issues. While his electric school buses (ESBs) come with range concerns, he said that district collaboration is key to improvement.

Amidst upheavals in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and federal government funding, the panelists reiterated OEM commitment to both ICE and electric options to serve customer needs.

“It’s our job to learn what your goals are and support you though it, whether you’re looking at diesel or other alternative fuels,” said Kelly Rivera, general manager for school bus dealer Carolina Thomas.

Daoud Chaaya, vice president of sales, aftermarket and marketing for Thomas, said he sees diesel and octane as a bridge to greater sustainability until ESB Total Cost of Ownership and price parity are achieved. Cummins’ Francisco Lagunas, the North America bus segment general manager, noted that the company’s octane engine will be available by January 2026 and the B7.2 diesel engine by January 2027.

Chaaya said that despite uncertainty in government funding, several U.S. states indicate a firm commitment to school bus electrification, plus both the knowledge and support networks are only growing stronger.

“By the end of the year a lot more clarity will come around,” he predicted.

Rivera pointed out that diesel buses are now being manufactured with cleaner engines by default. Lagunas added that manufacturing cleaner diesel buses increases their price while ESB manufacturing is becoming cheaper as that product improves.

“We need to diversify,” he said of OEMs.

Patrick spoke to the importance of proactive training when rolling out school buses with a different fuel or energy source than technicians are used to.

Chaaya confirmed that dealers and school districts are all included in the collaborative decision on what an OEM manufactures. “We want to thrive, not just survive in this ecosystem,” he said.

The panelists agreed that clarity, communication and speedy dialogue with the EPA is helpful for unified, stable OEM decisions and concrete answers to districts. “In absence of decision making, rumors and anxiety run wild,” Chaaya commented.

The speakers also expressed optimism for the future as student transporters are a resilient group. “It’s a really exciting time to be in student transportation as there are lots of products out there to meet your challenges,” Rivera concluded.

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School bus manufacturing leadership has seen a flurry of activity over the past six months. True to form, Thomas Built Buses looked within the Daimler Truck North America family for its next president and CEO to succeed Kevin Bangston, who now leads Daimler Truck Financial Services. T.J. Reed got his start at Daimler Truck in September 1998 and has spent 19 years total with the company, and nearly another six years spent at Meritor heading its global electrification as well as front drive train businesses. He was tapped in October to lead Thomas.

“It feels like five, six years already, and that’s been a good thing,” he told School Transportation News last month. “Early on, I had my first trade shows. I was blown away [by] how the entire industry was really on the same page, not only the camaraderie and the spirit of working together [but] on a common mission. But it was OE’s, suppliers, districts, contractors really just loving what they do and being passionate about school buses. That’s rubbed off. And you can’t help but feel that when you’re in High Point at Thomas.”

Thomas would not comment on potential tariff impact, but the American Trucking Associations’ outlook is a potential price increases of up to $35,000 for a heavy-duty truck, granted those are made in Mexico whereas Thomas is not.

Meanwhile, Reed said employees are “pumping out” high-quality school buses every single day and benefitting from increased investment to accomplish the job. In July, the manufacturer announced its new Saf-T-Liner HDX2 school bus and moving production to the C2 SafT-Liner plant in Archdale, North Carolina, for increased efficiency and quality.

He also discussed the HDX2 as well as efficiency improvements to the second-generation Jouley electric school bus, the continued role of diesel, and more.

The following transcript was edited for clarity and space.

STN: Talk about why Thomas chose the Accelera e-axle to power the latest Jouley.

TJ Reed: I think the biggest thing, Ryan, and when you look at it, I would say the technical concept or the promise of an e-axle is you’re not only increasing performance from an efficiency perspective, you’re lowering the weight, you’re improving packaging. It’s ideally suited for school bus, even a last mile item. If you think about it, you’re taking a lot of components that are inside the frame rails that add a lot of weight, and you’re basically collapsing it down inside the housing of a carrier. And you got your traditional axle, you’ve got your motor and your transmission all in a compact space, and
that frees up a lot of room for batteries to be placed in between the rails, and you can shorten the wheelbase. That had been some of the challenges with the early generations. You were pretty restricted on the variation of the product. And as we know, school buses are pretty custom. So, this just opens up a lot of flexibility. And the other great thing is this continued maturity of components. The product’s been out in the market for a while, been operating in a heavy-truck configuration. We know it’ll live in the life cycle and certainly Cummins/Accelera is a great partner. They have a lot of resources and know-how. All those things come together. It could be just a much better experience for the districts and the bus operators. Just another step in the progression. This is great to see it come to market now.

STN: We have seen some electric school bus market consolidation recently. What is Thomas’ perspective on ramping up production to meet demand? How is Thomas positioning itself to meet that demand?

Reed: It’s a long-term play. As we like to say, we’re leading with the long view. At the end of day, school bus is the ideal duty cycle when you got majority of ranges under 100 miles a day. You’ve got overnight charging in the depot. You’ve got a lot of stop and go for regenerative braking. It’s ideally set so that it is specific to school buses. But you know, part of Daimler, globally we serve markets all around the world and want to lead in this space. With that, we work with a lot of different partners, from battery partners, drive systems, accessories, financial services. It’s a significant investment for our dealers as well. [Daimler has] continued to invest, like in the Greenlane [charging station joint venture]. Those things take time to put in place, and you don’t make investments on short-term plays. This is a long-term play, and this is an area that we think is going to be not only the right thing to do for our environment, for our communities, but it’s going to be the right long-term play for our customers from an efficiency and certainly from a health and community perspective, especially on school buses.

That’s why it’s important we have what I would call our core business based upon internal combustion engines. That generates the cash flow that allows us to invest in a lot of this technology. We’ve got, I would say, that very phased approach, where we install, we learn, we adapt, we perfect, we continue to move forward. That’s not only just with us, that’s with our customers, as we learn how to put these new vehicles in applications that they hadn’t been in before. We’ve been doing internal combustion engines for over 100 years, and that was always changing and evolving. So, there’s nothing different here. But it’s nice, too, from a Daimler perspective, we have the global toolbox, that know-how. There are components and systems that we can use that work for us in a school bus application, some that don’t. So, we have that optionality to really work with a lot of different partners, including ourselves. That gives us a lot of capability.

STN: We’ll get back to diesel in a moment. Obviously, range is a challenge with electric school buses. But infrastructure has been named by many as the biggest challenge to adoption and scalability. Does that continue to be the number one obstacle? Are there others?

Reed: We have a kind of famous calculation that we always talk about in the marketplace. You’ve got to have infrastructure readiness. You’ve got to have a vehicle that’s ready. Then, you’ve got to have basically the economics from a TCO of operation. If any one of those factors is zero, the calculation is zero. And certainly, we’re still in the very early days of infrastructure. So, for us to get to the point where we’re going to start to scale and see higher volumes, we’ve got to have infrastructure certainly coming in at a much greater pace. That’s not just only for school buses, that’s commercial vehicles, that’s passenger cars, that’s everything, in general. I think that theme hasn’t changed. We’ve seen investment, we’ve seen partnerships, but those need to continue to scale up. Then the second part of the equation is, we ’ve got the vehicles. They’re ready. They’re performing in the market today, and they’re getting better and better every day. And as they do that, that’s going to increase volume. As volume increases, that’s going to start to bring the cost down to help with the TCO parity. All those three things need to line up, and infrastructure remains the biggest challenge, not just in the school bus industry but really across the board.

STN: What role has the EPA Clean School Bus Program played in terms of pricing electric school buses compared to supply chain congestion?

Reed: There’s certainly circular logic when it comes to supply and demand in how that impacts costs. I would say this, from a technology development what we’re looking to do in our longterm plans [is] for component systems that drive down costs, that are getting, I would say better performance, more range. The reality is, in the near-term, those are still very low volume systems, and you know that at the end day that battery-electric
vehicles will be significantly more expensive than internal combustion engines from a
scale perspective. There was the [viewpoint] that battery cell cost was going to start to come down, and then you really saw the supply chain crunch… I would say commodities that go into battery development spiked. So, prices went up. We were dealing with that. And now, too, it is absolutely true in these early days [that] funding is critically important to kind of drive the early development of those early adopters. And as that either steps down or is removed, then the cost obviously goes up, and that then kind of lowers volume. I wouldn’t say it’s going to stop our progress, but it will certainly have an impact and slow it. But again, we see it as a long-term view, that it’s not an if, it’s a when. Now that one, I can’t tell you, but it’s still a situation where we probably got to have the infrastructure coming back in. There’s got to be some level of subsidies for that. In the meantime, we’re all working in unison to bring better technology to market at a lower cost, so that takes time to do, collectively.

STN: We’ve also seen an industry trend toward bigger electric school buses. Do you have any plans that you’re willing to talk about as to an eventual electric HDX2?

Reed: I’ll foreshadow this. Some great news is coming. But what I would tell you is we absolutely see the need in the market. We absolutely see the need in our product portfolio, and we have some great solutions, so stay tuned.

STN: Daimler Trucks North American recently added investment into Detroit Diesel, and the California Air Resources Board ceased seeking additional federal waivers to fully implement its Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule for heavy-duty trucks. How do these developments impact the school bus market?

Reed: The Detroit Diesel investment, that’s more for our heavy-duty products, more on the truck side. Everything that we do on the school bus is medium range. That’s Cummins, our partner there. When you look at that, just in terms of diesel, we believe you need all types because the applications are so vast, that the use cases are so different that you need a lot of different technologies to drive to zero emissions. Diesel has a critical role to play. And you’re right, with a lot of investment not only by us in our proprietary engines but our partners from Cummins and our competitors as well, it is continuing to lower emissions. You’ve got GHG phase three that will be coming in 2027. There’s additional tailpipe reductions. All those are being engineered into our buses now. I mean significantly lower NOx and particulate matter, even over the last 10 years. These are much cleaner running engines today. There are requirements, yes, for the ACT rule, where in some states, in order to be able to sell internal combustion engines, you have to have a certain number of battery electric. But that’s been, I would say, one of the success stories of the Clean School Bus Program. It’s seeded enough diesel capability or opportunity in some of these states, we haven’t had an issue with that. Diesel is going to continue to play a role as well as other modes of propulsion. We’re invested in all.

STN: And in terms of gasoline or octane, Thomas is also coming out with an option provided by Cummins in 2026 or 2027.

Reed: We’re making investments across different modes of propulsion, different emissions technologies. You’ve got to have answers for all your customers, no matter what their duty cycle is. And octane, you know, gasoline will play a big role for that. We’re excited about that as well.

STN: Thank you

Editor’s Note: As reprinted in the March 2025 issue of School Transportation News.

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Dr. David K. Moore, the superintendent for the School District of Indian River County in Florida, referred to school bus drivers as transportation professionals, adding they are the first team members to “greet our students in the morning and the very last team members to wish them a good evening after school.”

At a Glance: Indian River Schools

Number of drivers: 72

Number of routes: 68

Student transported daily: 7,000

Miles traveled yearly: 1.6 million

Moore noted that school bus drivers have an “incredible responsibility” to transport students safely to and from school. In addition, transportation plays a role in transporting students to and from a variety of enriching and extracurricular activities offered by Indian River.

“We depend on our transportation professionals to support students in arriving to school on time so that we can maximize the instructional time that we have,” he added.

One major district initiative, Moore said, is sustaining the rate of accelerated achievement outcomes and expanding focus on school innovation to create a portfolio of offerings for the community.

“We continue to build and maintain robust data systems and infrastructure to not only drive unprecedented rates of improvement in student achievement, but also to ensure fiscal and organizational responsibility through our system,” he said.

Indian River also operates a 100-percent, propane-fueled school bus fleet with a current project focusing on adding a new propane fueling station.

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Ahead of the 2025 Superintendent of the Year being named on March 6 at the National Conference on Education in New Orleans, Louisiana, School Transportation News sat down with those in charge of transportation operations at the respective districts to gain a better understanding of how the services function. The Superintendent of the Year Award is sponsored by AASA: The School Superintendents Association, along with Corebridge Financial and Sourcewell, to celebrate the contributions and leadership of public-school superintendents.

 

This year’s four finalists were selected from 49 state superintendent award winners (Hawaii was not included) and were judged based on their exhibited leadership for learning, communication, professionalism and community involvement.

 

A $10,000 college scholarship will be presented in the name of the 2025 National Superintendent of the Year to a student at a high school the winning superintendent graduated from or from the school district the winner now leads.

Jennifer Idlette, director of transportation, said workplace culture is positive with a strong teamwork foundation. She noted that the team is often acknowledged and appreciated for their efforts.

She noted transportation is able to maintain drives in excess of routes, but face challenges when illnesses, absences and academic and athletic trips are added in.

“We are required to split (double-up) routes frequently,” she said. “We focus on recruiting and hiring year-round, $300 recruitment bonus paid to district employees for referrals who are hired, and we offer an optional 40-hour work week for drivers by assigning them as school support during mid-day break.”

Idlette said Moore informs his departments of district initiatives and provides support when needed to address and resolve concerns in a timely manner.

Dr. Moore’s Education History 

Moore said he started his education career as an exceptional student education teacher and school counselor. Five years in, he began serving in a variety of district leadership roles until he became the superintendent at Indian River County five years ago.

He shared that his father served as a principal for 21 years at the same school and had the greatest influence on cultivating his unwavering purpose as an educator.

“Naturally a very quiet man, my father would come to life when speaking about teaching and learning,” Moore added. “Many of the times I felt most connected to dad was when we would discuss his life’s passion for education, a passion that would be replicated in me. I watched my father cultivate growth, ownership and ambitious expectations at the school he led.”

Without realizing it, Moore said he was learning how “leaders adapt, inspire, and invest in people.

“Looking back, I was observing the intangible elements of culture that have shaped my beliefs and actions throughout all my leadership experiences and formed the building blocks for building sustainable, high-quality learning environments that our students deserve,” he added.

Moore said that being a finalist of the AASA Superintendent of the Year is something he is proud of for the recognition it brings his entire school district team.

“For them to be recognized across the state for their unwavering investments in and collective commitment to providing high quality educational experiences for all students, while realizing unprecedented academic outcomes,” he said. “Individually, I see this as an opportunity to be an ambassador and advocate for public education, to uplift all public education leaders in being authors of our own reform, and to demonstrate that public education can deliver the outcomes that all students deserve.”

The post Superintendent Snapshot: Florida District Depends on Transportation appeared first on School Transportation News.

Dr. Walter B. Gonsoulin, Jr., noted that becoming a finalist for the 2025 National Superintendent of the Year award was the culmination of a lot of hard work put in by a lot of people at Jefferson County Schools in Alabama.

He explained the importance of staff, administrators, teachers, students and parents who played a role in the honor.

“Yes, I am the leader of the school district, but a leader is only as good as the people who support him or her,” he said. “I have a tremendous cabinet and team of administrators who work tirelessly to do what’s best for students. Our teachers ensure that our students are learning and getting the best education possible. Our students work hard and take ownership in their own education. Our parents partner with us to ensure that their students are successful. I did not accomplish this by myself.”

Ahead of the 2025 Superintendent of the Year being named on March 6 at the National Conference on Education in New Orleans, Louisiana, School Transportation News sat down with those in charge of transportation operations at the respective districts to gain a better understanding of how the services function. The Superintendent of the Year Award is sponsored by AASA: The School Superintendents Association along with Corebridge Financial and Sourcewell to celebrate contributions and leadership of public-school superintendents.

 

This year’s four finalists were selected from 49 state superintendent award winners (Hawaii was not included) and were judged based on their exhibited leadership for learning, communication, professionalism and community involvement.

 

A $10,000 college scholarship will be presented in the name of the 2025 National Superintendent of the Year to a student at a high school the winning superintendent graduated from or from the school district the winner now leads.

Kevin Snowden, the transportation director for the district, is in his second year running the department after coming out of retirement. Snowden has served in various roles in student transportation, including as the state director at both the Florida and Alabama departments of education and as president of the Southeastern States Pupil Transportation Conference.

He explained that while Jefferson County is fully staffed, sub-drivers are hard to come by when a route driver calls out. They district is in the process of working to increase the sub pool. However, he noted many transportation office staff members and mechanics have their commercial driver’s licenses and help when needed.

To encourage driver attendance, he said drivers with perfect attendance are invited to a special event hosted by transportation. One driver, Peggy Coats, hasn’t missed a day of work in six years.

Initiatives Involving Transportation

One of the biggest initiatives over the past few years that directly involves transportation, Gonsoulin explained, involves the district’s Signature Academy Program. He explained the district has 13 high schools assigned into four zones (North, South, East and West.) Within that geographic region students can apply to any of the Signature Academies, classes that focus on a field of interest. Such as culinary arts, cybersecurity, engineering, and more.

Typically, students take a bus, provided by transportation, for their one academy class. Transportation then brings the student back to their home school following that class, where they will remain for the rest of the day.

“These educational opportunities absolutely would not be possible without our dedicated transportation staff,” he said. “They ensure that each student gets to their academy destination safely and on time.”

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Additionally, transportation is working to install Wi-Fi hotspots on all district buses. Jefferson County provides each student with a Chromebook, that they will be able to use to complete school assignments while riding to and from school.

“They’ll be able to review for a test or start their homework before even getting to their house,” he added.

Snowden noted that some routes are 45 minutes to an hour one way. The district was able to utilize federal funds from the E-Rate program to make the purchase happen.

Jefferson County Schools: At a glance

Number of school buses 488

Routes: 552, 97 of which are special needs

Student’s transported: 20,000

Miles traveled yearly: 4,000,640 miles

He explained that Wi-Fi-equipped buses will also allow for additional technology to be implemented on the buses such as turn-by-turn navigation, utilizing a driver time clock — as opposed to time sheets— adding another form of communication on the bus, and student tracking. It’s unknown how the district would proceed if the Supreme Court of the U.S. ends the Universal Services Funds.

While the current fleet of school buses is 100 percent diesel Jefferson County recently purchased 40 gasoline school buses that should arrive in April.

“We have longer routes, and so we don’t know that propane, electric or CNG would be necessarily a good fit for us,” Snowden explained, adding that neighboring districts do use alternative fuels and energy.

Building Relationships

Snowden noted during this tenure in transportation that he’s worked for at least three good superintendents and ranked Gonsoulin among the best. “He’s a cut above many superintendents, good leader, good spokesman, just a good person,” he said.

He provided examples, such as not only listening but asking follow-up questions on department needs.

“He makes good decisions and promotes the board in our direction, as far as being able to present our needs to the Board of Education,” Snowden added. “So, when they vote on things, they vote favorably. He’s very supportive in getting the job done when we have a need.”

Snowden noted Gonsoulin makes department heads feel comfortable telling him their needs.

Gonsoulin added that having a working relationship with the transportation department is important because school buses are an integral part of the school system.

“We run over 450 routes every single day,” he noted. “This is a massive operation. I have to have my pulse on what is happening with that department and have good people running it. If it’s not running well, and students aren’t getting to where they need to be and on time, that is going to cause a ripple effect throughout the instructional day.”

He added that school bus drivers are the first school employee that many students see in the morning and the last that they see before going home in the afternoon.

Dr. Walter B. Gonsoulin Jr. was the first person in his immediate family to graduate from high school and attend college. Growing up his mother worked three jobs, and his father drove for a taxi company. He said his parents stressed to him and his sisters the importance of education and the doors it could open. He grew up in New Iberia, Louisiana and has had many different positions in education, including teacher, coach, principal, assistant superintendent and now superintendent of Jefferson County Schools in Alabama.

 

“I think I’ve always had a love for education,” he shared. “When I was in elementary school, I got an award for reading. And I remember thinking, ‘I can get an award for this?’ I didn’t read to get the award. It wasn’t anything intentional. I read because I enjoyed reading and enjoyed learning new things.

 

“I think over the years, that love for learning evolved into wanting to help others learn,” he continued. “The desire to help others, and the nudging from a relative who was already working in education, is ultimately what led me to make it my career. I have been in this field for 35 years now, and I still love waking up in the morning. Coming to work every day is still such a joy!”

“They are an essential part of the learning process,” he said. “They can set the whole tone of the day for a student. They’re not just drivers, they’re teachers, mentors, and people our students admire.”

Gonsoulin said transportation should be an important part of the job for any superintendent.

“Our drivers are the people we trust to get our children safely to school and back,” he continued. “Our mechanics are the ones we trust to make sure the buses are safe and in good working order. Our transportation administrative staff ensures that all those routes run smoothly and that our personnel are properly trained.”

He advised other districts to find a process that works and stick with it, noting that Snowden reports directly to one of his deputy superintendents. “This chain of command facilitates the movement of information extremely quickly,” he said. “If there are any issues that arise, I’m one of the first people notified.”

He added that school administrators all have a point of contact at the district transportation office, which ensures everyone is on the same page if a route is running late or there’s mechanical issues.

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Related: Superintendent Snapshot: Recognizing Every Student
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Snowden said it takes a team effort. If the team is not going in the same direction, he said they won’t arrive at the location.

“Every part of education, whether it be your child nutrition program, your nursing program, your maintenance program, your transportation program, if everybody doesn’t have a common goal for the safety of the students, for the welfare of the students, we’re never going to get there,” Snowden concluded. “We all have to be focused in the right direction. And Dr G is great at pointing us in that direction.”

The post Superintendent Snapshot: Staying Connected with Departments, Students appeared first on School Transportation News.

Three students died from injuries caused by motorists who illegally passed a school bus during the 2023-2024 school year, according to the National School Bus Loading and Unloading Survey conducted by the Kansas State Department of Education. Meanwhile, the annual National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) illegal passing survey estimated over 43.5 million illegal school bus passes occurred during the 2022-2023 school year.

These findings highlight the constant safety issue of drivers who do not honor the school bus stop arm thus putting the lives of students at risk.

“This is not just a traffic violation. It is a matter of life and death,” said Lori Jetha, vice president of marketing for Safe Fleet, a manufacturer of stop arms, cameras and illegal passing warning systems.

Federal government steps to address this issue include analysis of state laws regarding illegal passing and various legislation on the use of stop-arm cameras to prosecute violators. Student transporters are reconsidering routes that require students to cross the street to board or exit their bus and emphasizing training of school bus drivers as well as students on proper loading and unloading.

It is also vitally important to equip districts with the technology and training they need to be proactive about this incredibly important safety issue. “Everyone on the road is responsible for the safety of others, yet there is a rise of illegal school bus passings across North America that put school aged children’s lives at risk every day,” said Brett Kuchiak, the specifications and compliance manager for First Light Safety Products, which manufacturers school bus illumination systems.

He continued that it is crucial to “implement changes on our end that can positively change a driver’s behavior.” Jetha shared how Osceola County School District in Florida is utilizing Safe Fleet’s Stop Arm Violation Enforcement System (SAVES) system that was launched last June. It provides a three-step approach, the first being illuminated stop arms and LED driver alerts to improve visibility. Step two uses radar, predictive analytics and AI-enhanced software to provide an audible warning to students if a motorist will illegally pass the bus. Finally, the SAVES system also “automatically captures and processes stop-arm violations to aid in issuing citations and deter future incidents.”

Randy Wheeler, the assistant transportation director at Osceola, added that the system helps modify motorist behavior, with the goal of improving student safety. “With the SAVES system installed on just three buses since December, we’ve detected over 500 violations. That’s terrifying to us as school bus operators,” he said.

Joshua Hinerman, the director of transportation for Robertson County Schools in Tennessee, confirmed the high numbers of illegal passing incidents. He noted his district has recorded 767 stop-arm violations in the 2023-2024 school year. He continued that the district has had 880 reported stop-arm violations in just the first semester of the current school year, which he attributes to driver training that allows them to electronically report illegal passing incidents using onboard bus tablets. He explained that these tablets allow drivers to record their bus number, location and time of the incident with a press of a button which allows for data collection that can be provided to law enforcement when looking for areas of repeated illegal passing violations.

Technology plays a significant role in aiding student safety and providing a quick way to track and report illegal passing. John Legus, director of transportation at Berrien Springs Public Schools in Michigan, discussed the benefits of stop-arm cameras. “The drivers main focus should always be on the location of the kids while making a school bus stop,” he said. “Our stop-arm cameras allow us to go back and get the license plate and other pertinent information when the bus returns to the lot.”

Arby Creach, the recently retired director of transportation director at Osceola County, recalled video footage that showed a student jumping back as a vehicle sped past the stop arm at 65 mph in a 25 mph zone.

“Even now, thinking about it sends chills down my spine. It’s a serious undertaking, protecting these kids, and we need to consider every viable option to help ensure their safety,” Creach said.

Although a stop arm is already an indicator that motorists must stop, many districts have found success implementing lighted stop arms equipped with flashing lights. “Anything that will snap the drivers out of their distractions and draw attention to the stopped school bus is worth looking at and implementing where appropriate,” said Don Paul, transportation supervisor for Washington Township Schools in New Jersey. “In areas where we have implemented the First Light Stop Arms, we have seen a drastic reduction in illegal passing.”

Legus noted that the illuminated signage at his district, also provided by First Light, “clearly indicate that a motorist is approaching a school bus and not a dump truck.” He added that the buses are also equipped with an LED light system that activates when the exterior door is opened on the passenger and drivers’ side of the bus, as well as overhead strobing lights, both of which draw attention to students exiting or entering the bus.

David Bowman, transportation director at Lakeland School Corporation in Indiana, explained how different technology offerings can work together to further student safety. “Our stop-arm cameras are excellent in capturing people who pass our stopped bus. However, they are reactive,” said Bowman. “First Light’s Illuminated School Bus Signs and LED warning lights are all proactive in helping motorists realize it’s a school bus and to stop”.

Kuchiak discussed First Light’s published Stop Arm Efficacy Pilot Study and how “building on top of that model to collect additional data points from more sources, we are able to prove the positive effects improving conspicuity has on decreasing illegal passing of the school bus.”

He shared that the median decrease of illegal passings because of enhanced school bus illumination is 64 percent, with an almost 90 percent decrease in infractions during low-light hours. “It is clear that increasing the visibility of the school bus, and the action required by the motorists on the road [to stop] that we have found part of the solution needed to get to our goal of zero violations, zero accidents and zero fatalities,” he added.

Alfredo Escalera, fleet supervisor at Seminole County Public Schools in Florida, another user of the Safe Fleet illegal passing technology, said people are going to see these added safety features and question why the technology wasn’t available years ago.

“It’s going to be a no-brainer at that point,” he said. “The systems would be life savers. It only makes sense to have these safety features on-board.”

Training also plays a large role. At Berrien’s transportation operations, Legus said that training is continuous and includes monthly reviews to discuss transportation related events and a weekly newsletter that drivers can use in everyday work with the students. Paul said his district also provides training material to the drivers and that students (up to fifth grade) are given annual training in Danger Zone and school bus safety.

Tennessee’s Hinerman shared specific driver training protocols from his operations. “When the driver makes the stop, they are taught to look and make sure all vehicles have come to a stop before making eye contact with the student and motioning the student to cross, during that time the driver should be constantly keeping their eye moving and looking for danger/ hazards.”

He also noted that drivers are trained to use a designated hand signal to indicate to students that it is safe to cross, i.e. a thumbs up. “Do not use waving their hand for the signal,” he advised, “as car drivers might [think drivers] mean they are waving their vehicle pass.”

Staying in a vigilant state of mind when on the road is crucial for drivers and students, he explained. “For drivers it reminds us to be constantly looking before coming to a stop and never assume that the other vehicle is going to stop. For students this could mean serious injury and/or death and students must always be aware of their bus stop and making sure they look both ways and make eye contact with the bus driver before crossing.

Robertson County Schools has experienced multiple instances of a student being hit by a passing motorist in the past few years, with each case resulting in minor injuries to the student, said Hinerman.

“There is no explanation for the utter feeling of horror when you hear a [school bus] driver come over the radio stating a student has been struck by a car,” he noted. “We respond calmly and quickly to the situation. While at the scene we do our best to be a comfort to the parents who have often times witnessed such a tragic event.

Awareness from school districts, news coverage of illegal passing incidents, and community outreach are all tools to bring attention to this safety concern. Paul noted that community education on Danger Zone safety is done through the New Jersey State Police and local law enforcement. He noted online resources such as schoolbusfacts.com, which he said districts should utilize.

Legus pointed to an episode of his district’s podcast series, “ShamrockED,” which is hosted by Berrien Springs Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Thomas Bruce. Bruce spoke with Legus as well as one of the districts’ school bus drivers about safety issues specific to student transportation. Educational outreach opportunities such as this are examples of how districts can highlight school bus safety concerns, giving a voice to student transportation professionals and broadcast it to the wider community.

Legus also said four signs that read, “All lanes must stop for school bus with flashing red lights” have been placed at strategic areas. Reported illegal passing incidents for his fleet of 26 buses reduced from 170 in the 2022-2023 school year to 146 in 2023-2024, with 30 currently reported for the 2024-2025 year. Two of the signs were posted in 2023 and the other two in 2024.

Even when illegal passing incidents don’t result in death or injury, it doesn’t mean it that they don’t have consequences. “The potential for fatal consequences is off the charts,” Paul said. Legus shared how illegal passing can have long-term psychological and
emotional effects. “Stop-arm violations are both emotional and traumatic to our transportation staff and students,” he said. “Drivers put a lot of care and compassion into their profession. Our drivers tend to view the kids as their own and protect them as such.”

Editor’s Note: As reprinted in the February 2025 issue of School Transportation News.

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Related: Ohio Bill Seeks School Bus Illegal Passing Fine Increase, Safety Fund
Related: Florida Students Hit, Two Killed During School Bus Stop Walks
Related: (STN Podcast E244) In the People Business: Underscoring & Improving School Bus Safety

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Dr. Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat recognizes that every student’s schedule is different and should offer flexible options to ensure no student gets left behind. It often falls on transportation to provide access to those resources.

This adds up to 19 different bell schedules at Peoria Public Schools in Illinois that transportation must accommodate. Joshua Collins, director of transportation and fleet services for the district, likened a bell schedule to an individual student schedule, 19 throughout the day from morning to afternoon to evening. In addition to home-to-school, Collins said Peoria transports students to vocational schools, CTE programs, pre-k programs and half-day, pre-k, as well as various other programs for students with special needs, which could be full-day or half-day programs.

Peoria Public Schools: At a glance

School bus drivers: 106

Routes: 82

Student’s transported: 6,500

Route miles traveled yearly: 1.5 million

“We are busy, and then you throw field trips on top of that, and athletics on top of that,” Collins said. “The need is there. [The students are] important. It’s worth the sacrifice. It’s worth the effort to try to figure it out. Because especially the students we have, they need these programs. And at the end of the day, I keep that in mind, that this is not for my comfort, it’s for our kids.”

Kherat, who’s going on her 10th year as superintendent at Peoria, said she recognizes the work transportation does for the success of the students and how it aligns with Peoria’s five-year strategic plan, which concludes in 2026. However, she noted that the plan “is a reimagined education that ignites passion and empowers students to be responsible and successful.”

“We wanted to really be bold and move away from the one-size-fits-all sort of programming,” she explained, adding that transportation plays a huge role. “Josh and I talk very regularly. What I like about him, no matter how challenging, it might be a difficult ask but he will do everything in his power to really make it happen and squeeze it in. And that’s part of our success, really. We will not continue to thrive on this traditional schedule.”

She noted the district also has options for students who have jobs or attend trauma-based programs, in total offering about 15 different alternative options.

“Thinking outside the box and providing lots of opportunities and options for students,” she said of district goals. “We have an international baccalaureate program for students from all over the city. We have a middle school gifted program that is one of the top schools in the state of Illinois. They pull kids from all over the city.”

Collins noted he has drivers start as early as 5 a.m. to transport students protected under the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act, and some drivers who are working till 11 p.m. on field and athletic trips. All of this is accomplished fully staffed.

Collins said to combat a personnel shortage, Peoria invested in the school bus drivers and monitors, making their salaries competitive for the next three to four years. Over the past couple years, Peoria increased its driver pay by almost $10, with starting wages at around $26 an hour next year.

Ahead of the 2025 Superintendent of the Year being named on March 6 at the National Conference on Education in New Orleans, Louisiana, School Transportation News sat down with those in charge of transportation operations at the respective districts to gain a better understanding of how the services function. The Superintendent of the Year Award is sponsored by AASA: The School Superintendents Association along with Corebridge Financial and Sourcewell to celebrate contributions and leadership of public-school superintendents.

 

This year’s four finalists were selected from 49 state superintendent award winners (Hawaii was not included — STN reached out to AASA to confirm why) and were judged based on their exhibited leadership for learning, communication, professionalism and community involvement.

 

A $10,000 college scholarship will be presented in the name of the 2025 National Superintendent of the Year to a student at a high school the winning superintendent graduated from or from the school district the winner now leads.

Transportation also partnered with a local advertising agency. “It was just so difficult to try to do everything that you do and manage all of these different advertising opportunities,” he said.

Collins’ staff and the agency collaborated on a QR code that takes potential applicants to an online landing page for a pre-screening questionnaire.

The true challenge for Peoria has been a shortage of vehicles. Kherat said she is in the process of asking the school board for money to purchase new school buses, as prior to 2020 the most recent orders were in 2009 and then again in 2015 due to budget constraints. The district is now trying to get caught up on its replacement cycle, and over the past five years have replaced nearly 80 buses. This year, the school board received a request for $3 million to purchase 34 buses, but the final amount approved was about half that. In addition to the increased district programming discussed above, Kherat said the district needed the buses due to the increase in students, schools and routes.

“It’s a good place to be,” she said of district growth. “We just need folks who are willing to have that elastic mindset as well as the mindset around doing the work differently. … In order to continue to thrive and ensure that our kids are well positioned for success in society and in the workforce, we have to think outside the box for them.”

Creating Culture from the Top Down

Kherat said the culture at Peoria is focused on being collaborative and collective. She noted success hinges on listening to the needs of departments, getting feedback, and making adjustments.

One way to foster culture, she said, is through recognition to boost district morale. She noted that Collins mirrors and replicates in transportation what’s happening on national and district-wide levels. For example, Collins said he celebrates Black History Month this month and Women’s History Month in March.

“It’s one thing to recruit, but you have to retain, if you’re not keeping the people that you’re recruiting, then you just end up recruiting all the time,” he explained. “Then you can’t [fully] train them, so you’re always just doing level one training, because that’s all you can do because you’re constantly turning over new people.”

He explained that celebrating cultures is one way to focus on the employees and show appreciation. “I like to celebrate our diversity,” he added. “We have a lot of different people here, a lot of different folks that represent a lot of different mindsets and a lot of different ways that they approach transportation. So, we try to celebrate that, we try to celebrate who our folks are and what they represent.”

Kherat added that retention isn’t all about the money, but instead who people work for.

“People don’t quit their jobs,” she said. “I think they quit their people.”

Breaking Down Initiatives

Because retention is important, not just in transportation but district-wide, Kherat said she focuses on employee interviews to learn what’s working and what isn’t. She said getting this information helps her administration know what will keep teachers on staff. She noted that when she joined the district in 2015, teacher retention was at 78 percent, last year it increased to 88 percent. Kherat said she would like to see that number in the 90s.

She noted another way to keep staff is by allowing people to serve the district in non-teacher positions, without certifications, with the goal of eventually getting their license, paid for by the district. The only requirement is to sign a promissory note that they will remain at the district for three years. The same model can work with school bus drivers.

Another initiative Kherat mentioned was the district’s incorporation of electric school buses, with the goal of having a 20 percent EV fleet with its first purchase. Infrastructure updates at the transportation facility have already begun. The district received a grant from the EPA Clean School Bus Program of about $5.9 million for 15 electric school buses. Despite the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze program funding, sources indicated it will continue unfettered. But when remains a question, as many grantees from across the country have yet to see the funds flow. Meanwhile, the district is contributing $4.5 million for infrastructure and another four electric school buses with wheelchair capability.

“From a point of view of environmental impact, they are going to be better locally than some of the diesel vehicles, especially some of the older ones that we’ve been running,” Kherat said.

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Related: Superintendent Snapshot: Fully Staffed Arkansas District Focus’ on Employees
Related: Minnesota Administrator Named National Superintendent of the Year
Related: Illinois School District Moves to E-Learning After Vandals Target School Buses
Related: School Bus Dispatch Center: ‘Managed Chaos’ in Illinois District

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Additionally, she noted the district is installing solar panels on the roofs of high schools to offset utility costs and serve as a backup power generation.

She noted that in January the district rolled out a new bus app that allows parents to communicate with transportation and view routes and bus information more effectively. Additionally, transportation is migrating its routing software.

Building a Relationship

Collins noted that Dr. Kherat is relentless, which is exactly what the district needs.

“If you do a little bit of research about Peoria, Illinois, what you will find is we have a Zip code that is one of the most impoverished in the state,” he said, adding maybe even across the nation. “Poverty leads to a lot of social and economic issues, and we need somebody who is relentless, who will push, push, push, push because that’s what these children need. If we want to break this cycle of poverty … if we want to stop what’s going on in our community, we have to educate our children.”

He noted that even after accomplishing one task, she doesn’t stop there.

“It keeps you moving and keeps it going,” he explained. “I hate to say it this way, but nothing’s ever good enough, and it shouldn’t ever be good enough for the kids. And I appreciate that, and I that is a tremendous asset I think that the district has.”

Dr. Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat has lived in Peoria, Illinois, for over 40 years. She first arrived as a teenager from St Croix, Virgin Islands to attend Bradley University and ended up staying. She said she built her entire career out of the city, serving in various educational roles.

 

“I just love people,” she said. “I have a lot of educators in my family. I did not originally set off to get into education. I had a different major but somehow ended up in West Lake Hall, which is the building at Bradley University that provides a lot of support and guidance to education majors, and did my student teaching and student observation all in Peoria Public Schools.

 

“We talk about this work and life, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and that’s what we’re experiencing every day,” she continued. “This work is all about making a difference and fighting for the children and understanding that everyone can thrive with the right supports and resources.”

 

She said when she was named the state superintendent of the year and a finalist for the national honor, she didn’t believe it was real.

“It’s humbling,” she said, adding that she’s not taking the recognition for granted. “I’m just the face. It’s the work of PPS, everybody in Peoria Public Schools, from the board down to the community as well.”

In terms of transportation, he said it’s critical to have a good relationship with the district administration .

“The administration has to trust you, you need to really have that relationship where you can go to administration and say, this is what you need, or this is a situation, or and trust that you know you’re not trying to hide something or you’re not trying to cover something up,” she said. “Trust to know that you’re going to handle situations.”

Collins said transportation provides more than trips. “Transportation deals with logistics,” he explained. “There are logistical problems throughout the district that a good transportation department can be a part of to help navigate and or solve. But you have to have that trust there.”

His advice to other transportation directors is to get involved at the district level. “If you’re not in the cabinet, get yourself in cabinet. If there’s a meeting coming up about curriculum, just be the fly on the wall. Learn everything that you can through all those meetings,” he noted.

Sooner or later, he said the director can start raising their hand and offering solutions, and how transportation can help.

“And then then you are viewed as more of a resource than just getting the kids to school, he added.

Kherat agreed, noting that without transportation, many children wouldn’t have access to education.

“It’s integral to a smooth operation of a school district,” she said. “We need to have a well-functioning transportation department that helps provide equal opportunity to all of our children, no matter where they live.”

She added that her departments are all on the same page.

“We have an indomitable spirit about us that we may be knocked down, but we get up and we keep plugging away,” said Kherat, who considers herself a servant-leader. “And that’s pretty much everybody on the team, just ensuring that every kid has a fighting chance for a good life, whether it’s through traditional or through unorthodox [education].”

The post Superintendent Snapshot: Recognizing Every Student appeared first on School Transportation News.

Dr. Debbie Jones knows the importance of prioritizing her staff and surrounding community, whether through a parent school choice program or dedicated housing for district personnel.

Ahead of the 2025 Superintendent of the Year being named on March 6 at the National Conference on Education in New Orleans, Louisiana, School Transportation News sat down with those in charge of transportation operations at the respective districts to gain a better understanding of how the services function. The Superintendent of the Year Award is sponsored by AASA: The School Superintendents Association along with Corebridge Financial and Sourcewell to celebrate contributions and leadership of public-school superintendents.

 

This year’s four finalists were selected from 49 state superintendent award winners (Hawaii was not included — STN reached out to AASA to confirm why, but Hawaii superintedenets oversee complexes, which is different than the other states) and were judged based on their exhibited leadership for learning, communication, professionalism and community involvement.

 

A $10,000 college scholarship will be presented in the name of the 2025 National Superintendent of the Year to a student at a high school the winning superintendent graduated from or from the school district the winner now leads.

One highlight of Bentonville Public Schools in Arkansas, where Jones serves as superintendent, is that it is fully staffed in transportation. Don Hoover, executive director of student services, lauded Transportation Director Jason Salmons and his team for their advertising and recruiting efforts.

We’re recruiting friends and colleagues and people they may go to church with, or friends from the neighborhood,” Hoover said. “We’re lucky this community responds. We’re fully staffed right now. We even have some wonderful teachers who help us out, teachers who work their full-time teaching job then help us out in the morning or the afternoon, if their schedule allows.”

Jones added another way the district has combatted the school bus driver shortage is by encouraging coaches to obtain their CDLs, so they can drive to their sporting events.

“When I came here, I was accustomed to coaches driving their bus,” Jones recalled of her previous experience. “[Bentonville] didn’t do it at the time. In fact, we wouldn’t allow it, and we needed more bus drivers.”

Jones said she started to encourage coaches, especially because home-to-school transportation is the priority. “And if that means you can’t get to your football game or baseball game because you don’t have a driver, it’s on you,” she noted. “They understand that now everyone needs a CDL [driver] on their team.”

Breaking Down Initiatives

Jones said one of the district’s biggest initiatives for transportation is related to Arkansas being a parent-choice state. Parents can enroll their children in private school, homeschool, public school, and charter schools as well as open enrollment for public school. This, she said, encourages Bentonville to be more competitive.

“We’re offering parents all kinds of different opportunities within our own school district,” she said, adding that this year Bentonville created a parent choice model for its schools downtown. “We’re a growing district of about 20,000 students and we grow a lot every year. Most of our families can afford to live out on the border of our zones.”

She explained that downtown Bentonville is very expensive. Plus, last month Walmart Home Office opened in the city, which is bringing in more people. Because people can’t afford to live downtown, she noted that four or five elementary schools don’t fill to capacity, whereas the schools closer to the district boundaries are at capacity. To draw more people to downtown schools, the district created the policy that it will provide transportation.

That also presents challenges.

“It’s hard to get enough bus drivers,” she said. “Increasing routes makes it even more difficult.”

To address this, she noted that over the past three years, Bentonville has reduced door-to-door school bus service that the community was accustomed to. Instead, the district transitioned to consolidated bus stops. Jones said transportation is handling the new parent choice model “beautifully.”

Bentonville at a glance:

District enrollment: 19,600 students

Students transported: 12,967

Daily routes: 132

Number of drivers: 152

Coaches that have their CDL: 19

Number of school buses: 168

Total miles driven yearly (route, field trips, sporting events): 1,899,866

Another initiative is creating staff housing, due to the expensive city of Bentonville. She noted the district wants to continue to hire top-quality staff, and she wants them to be able to live in Bentonville and not elsewhere which leads to longer work commutes. As a result, she noted the district partnered with a nonprofit to design 40 teacher cottages with rent far below market that staff can live in for up to five years based on income. The monthly rent payments are then saved for the employees so that when they move out, they receive the lump sum back. This can be used as a downpayment on a home.

The staff housing will also feature a 3,000-square-foot childcare center. Jones added that she expects some transportation staff will live there.

One last initiative Jones discussed was the district’s career program. Professional career programs are popular across Arkansas, and since 2016 Bentonville has offered a nonprofessional studies program that students are transported to via the school bus.

“Our bus drivers are driving to all of these opportunities for high school kids, from their high schools to the professional studies building from the high schools the junior college — We have welding programs — so [transportation is] taking care of all of these one-off programs,” Jones explained. “We have behavior classrooms too. Some of those can be tough [trips] for drivers and for aides.”

She added that Hope Academy is a trauma-based school located outside of the district, so Bentonville doesn’t receive funds for students going there. “We provide transportation free of charge,” she said, adding that they’re losing money for this service. “But it is a service to the district because the kids are getting the help they need and they’re not being disruptive.”

Culture

Meanwhile, Hoover in student services noted that Salmons in transportation does a great job visiting and speaking with his employees. “The most important thing is a very safe and really a nurturing ride to school and from school,” he added. “The bus driver may be the first adult kids see, the first adult interaction they have in a day outside of mom and dad. And sometimes Mom and Dad are going to work [in the morning]. We obviously want our drivers to have a big smile on their face and set the tone for a good day for all the kids as they’re going to school. So, when they get to school, they’re ready to learn.”

That same welcoming culture continues once students get to school. “They have welcoming principals and teachers at the classroom doors,” Hoover continued. “It’s the next wave of people who are greeting a student every morning to make them feel special and want to be part of Bentonville schools.”

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Related: 2025 National Superintendent of the Year Award Finalists Named by AASA
Related: Minnesota Administrator Named National Superintendent of the Year
Related: April 2024

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Bentonville is continuing to run a majority of diesel and some gasoline school buses. Hoover noted that Salmons is looking into propane to determine if it’s a viable option. Bentonville doesn’t contract out any aspect of its transportation service.

In terms of technology, transportation uses several different platforms, one of which is student accountability through a badge scan system. “When the students come on, they badge on, they badge off,” Hoover explained. “It’s just a really good safety measure to have with your students. Our principals back at the campus can see that on the software program and their computers and know where their kids are at all times. And the individual parent through an app can know where their bus is on the route and when to expect their student home.”

Building Relationships with Administration, Transportation

Dr. Debbie Jones, the superintendent of Bentonville Public Schools in Arkansas and one of the four finalists for Superintendent of the Year Award, said her family has a long history in education. She shared that her dad was a teacher, coach and farmer and was on the school board at one point. She recalled being the little girl hanging out with the high school cheerleaders. She said she views being a superintendent as continuing the tradition.

 

Additionally, she shared her husband Dale Jones is a coach and teacher. “It’s just part of the fabric of who we are as a family. And I love it still today, because getting to be around students of different ages,” she said, adding that she taught high school but also enjoys sitting in the elementary classrooms. “It’s refreshing. It’s inspiring. When I talk with high school kids at the secondary level who are really getting started in their careers, it’s so good to see that excitement in their eyes, the curiosity and it keeps you young in this job.

 

“I can easily get bored in a job, and this is one of the first jobs that I’m never bored,” she continued, adding that the day to day is different every hour.

 

Jones – a mother of five children, the youngest of which is finishing college, and a grandmother to two – said she’s traveled and worked in Tennessee and Kentucky but moved back to Arkansas 30 years ago. She is going on her ninth year as superintendent for Bentonville. When asked what being a Superintendent of the Year finalist award means to her, Jones shared there’s a new sense of responsibility.

 

“I was so surprised,” she said. “We have really such high-quality superintendents that were nominated, and I’m honored. And there’s a sense of responsibility to speak up for what we need in education, to fight for those things.”

 

She said that meeting the other three finalists in Washington, D.C., was reinvigorating and showed her that Bentonville is on the right track. “We’re doing some progressive things that are very good. Keep going, push harder,” she said. “Whether you’re the finalist or not is immaterial to me at this point. It is really about enjoying the process, learning from the process and it’s bringing the best that you can bring to the district and to the state.”

Jones noted that transportation staff tend to be more transient in their employment, as many school bus drivers are older and retiring. As a result, the department is constantly hiring and training people.

“We have to be very aggressive in marketing and paying,” she said. “We also have to have good relationships.”

She explained that currently transportation has a really great culture and leadership team. “It’s really important for each one of our schools, our principals, assistant principals, our teachers, to appreciate bus drivers, which they do. They show them lots of love,” she said.

Jones provided an example. During each school board meeting, the district recognizes an employee who goes the extra mile, nominated by anyone in the community. For January, the Extra Mile recipient was school bus driver Sonia, who was nominated by a teacher. Sonia was nominated because she decorates her bus for each holiday. Jones noted that when the teacher’s first grade class got on the bus to go on a Christmas field trip, Sonia played Christmas music that instantly put the children in the holiday spirit.

“We do try to show our drivers love,” Jones added. “They’re super high-quality employees. We’re really proud of them, and they take great care of our students, and we can’t function without them. The world stops when you have to start canceling bus routes, and we try to do everything we can to make that not happen.”

Hoover noted that Jones has an open-door policy and listens to the needs of all departments. He added that if Salmons has a particularly urgent problem, he can report it directly to Jones.

Hoover added that he has bi-monthly meetings with each department he oversees, including transportation, to discuss any operational needs.

“Dr. Jones is always very quick to respond and help us form the solution that is needed,” Hoover said. In speaking on the driver shortage again, he noted that Jones was very supportive with their advertising efforts to hire more drivers, as well as the needs of physical resources like new buses.

“We have support financially, have support to hire at all times, and it’s crucial we have that opportunity for open communications,” Hoover said. “She’s a superintendent that definitely wants to listen to what the departments need when they have those needs.”

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Vaping among minors has emerged as a significant public health crisis, prompting school districts, student transporters, parents and public officials to take aggressive action.

This crisis, fueled by the marketing strategies of companies like e-cigarette companies like Juul Labs, has led to a wave of litigation, settlements and innovative prevention strategies. The rise in vaping has spurred interest in new technologies, such as vape detectors, with potential applications even on school buses.

Juul Labs settled a lawsuit led by San Franscisco Unified School District in December 2022, marking a pivotal moment in the battle against youth vaping. The reported $1.2 billion settlement resolved over 1,500 lawsuits filed by school districts, cities and counties nationwide. The legal fight emphasized the role Juul and its parent company Altria played in creating and perpetuating the youth vaping crisis.

Mike Dorn, executive director of Safe Havens International, testified during the trial about the severe consequences of vaping on school grounds and during transport, providing compelling evidence that contributed to the settlement. “The scope of this crisis is unprecedented,” Dorn told School Transportation News, referencing not only the rise in nicotine addiction among minors but also the emergence of vape devices used for substances like THC oil, crystal meth and fentanyl.

Dorn highlighted alarming incidents that underscore the dangers of vaping in unsupervised environments. For example, ambulances in Palm Beach County, Florida, were dispatched to treat 11 students who overdosed after sharing a vape device on a school bus. A similar case occurred in Glynn County, Georgia, where 12 students overdosed in an athletic transport van. Dorn said these cases demonstrate the rapidly evolving nature of the crisis and the urgent need for preventative measures.

“These devices were never just about nicotine,” explained Dorn, a member of STN’s editorial advisory board. “With aftermarket pods and illicit substances, we’ve seen students exposed to risks far beyond addiction, including overdoses and physical harm from malfunctioning devices.”

Vape Detectors: A New Frontier in Prevention

To address the crisis, school districts are exploring new technologies to curb vaping. Vape detectors are promising tools for creating vape-free environments. While these devices have been installed in school bathrooms and other indoor areas, their potential use on school buses represents a new frontier in prevention efforts.

Randall Jubb, president of school bus contractor Jubb’s Bus Services, said he sees on-board vape detection as a crucial step in curbing the issue before it escalates further.

“We are planning to implement a demonstration of selected units in our fleet, with detectors positioned under the seats, as vape is denser than air and tends to settle lower,” Jubb explained. “A puck-sized indicator will be installed in the driver’s area to provide an immediate alert. Additionally, an app will be installed on school administration devices to notify them of any alerts, including the specific bus number and the time the alert was triggered.”

Jubb emphasized that this system—when combined with video surveillance and school bus driver observation—will provide the best chance at accurately identifying offenders.

“We recognize the severe impact vaping can have on the health and well-being of our students, and we believe that any deterrent is crucial in safeguarding their future,” he added.

Guy Grace, a representative of Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) and a retired director of safety and emergency planning for Littleton Public Schools in Colorado, emphasized that vape sensors alone are insufficient to address the youth vaping epidemic. Based on insights from safety practitioners across the country, Grace outlined a multi-layered approach that integrates vape sensors with human roles, processes and additional technologies to maximize effectiveness

First, he said properly designed awareness programs are critical. Students and parents need to understand the addictive nature of e-cigarettes and the policies in place to address violations. Education campaigns that involve students and parents can significantly reduce vaping incidents.

The stealthy nature of vaping also necessitates vigilant student supervision, he continued. While vape sensors can alert staff to incidents, live supervision in restrooms, stairwells, and other hotspots is essential. Free training videos on supervision techniques are available through Safe Havens International to help staff improve their ability to detect and deter vaping.

Grace noted additional personnel, such as vape prevention coordinators and monitors for hot-spot areas, are often needed to support detection technologies and ensure consistent enforcement. These roles work alongside technology to address vaping more effectively.

Vape sensors can detect e-cigarette aerosols in areas where direct supervision is challenging, such as restrooms and locker rooms. He said these devices can also integrate with smart cameras and analytics software, enforce no-go zones and monitor high-traffic areas.

Robust electronic hall-pass systems help administrators track students’ movements and identify patterns of misuse, Grace offered. These systems can also prevent students with a history of vaping together from obtaining hall passes simultaneously.

School buses represent a critical and often overlooked area in the fight against youth vaping. Grace discussed the potential for integrating vape detectors, which can range in cost from hundreds of dollars to about $1,000 dollars, with modern bus surveillance systems, including 360-degree cameras and real-time monitoring capabilities. These tools can help capture activity both inside and outside the school bus while ensuring driver focus remains on the road.

“While no districts have officially implemented vape sensors on buses yet, the technology exists to make this feasible. Early adopters could set an important precedent for broader adoption,” Grace said, referencing ongoing pilot programs and partnerships with companies like Zeptive.

“Like IP cameras, vape sensors require relatively low power and can be connected via Ethernet to a bus’s power switch. While APIs for integrating vape sensors with bus cameras are still under development, standalone sensors can already enhance monitoring efforts,” he continued.

Grace noted that vape detection companies are exploring pilot programs to evaluate these systems in real-world conditions.

He also detailed how students attempt to evade detection, exhaling mist into bottles or vaping under desks. He emphasized the importance of proper device placement, sensor sensitivity adjustments and ongoing staff training to counteract these methods effectively.

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Progress and Challenges Ahead

The battle against youth vaping is far from over, but progress is being made. School districts like San Francisco Unified are leading the way with comprehensive prevention programs and forward-thinking solutions. By addressing the root causes of vaping and equipping students with the tools to make healthier choices, communities can take meaningful steps toward ending this crisis.

“This is about protecting our kids,” said Jenny Lam, president of the San Francisco Board of Education. “We’re committed to using every tool at our disposal to ensure they have a healthy, smoke-free future.”

Grace echoed this sentiment, noting that while challenges remain, the collective efforts of educators, parents, and policymakers offer a path forward.

“The stakes couldn’t be higher, but with determination and innovation, we can turn the tide,” he said.

Integrating these systems with existing school bus technology could provide a seamless solution for tracking incidents.

“The one thing I might add is that the system interfaces with the bus monitoring systems, reporting and time-stamping any alerts to make tracking easier,” Jubb noted.

While detection technology plays a vital role, the broader issue extends beyond school buses and into classrooms. Mike Anderson, CEO and founder of school vaping sensor manufacturer Space Coast Technology Solutions, highlighted how vaping has become a significant disruption to education itself.

“In our research, vaping is listed as the number one challenge facing educators,” Anderson said. “Students are distracted in class, and school resources are consumed with policing instead of educating.”

The same could be said for school bus drivers, who need to be concentrating on road traffic but increasingly have student misbehavior to contend with.

The post Amid Youth Vaping Epidemic, Prevention Efforts Begin to Target School Buses appeared first on School Transportation News.

There’s no getting around the fact that transporting students is an expensive enterprise. Add to that the extra measures needed for serving students with disabilities, and costs grow substantially higher than for other routine operations.

For school some districts, at least a portion of that extra expense is being offset with funds from the federal government. Through provisions in the legislation authorizing Medicaid funding, school systems may file for reimbursement for transportation to and from specified eligible services that students with disabilities need during the school day. These services can include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology or therapy services, psychological counseling, and nursing services.

Of course, that’s based on acceptable submission of the required reports, which in turn rests on providing accurate ridership figures. Currently, reporting practices vary among school districts across the country, from relying on paper-based approaches to capitalizing on advanced features offered by routing software and related student ridership verification.

Teena Mitchell, special needs transportation coordinator for Greenville County Schools in Greenville, South Carolina, noted that considering the extra costs involved in serving special needs riders, seeking reimbursement is well worth the effort.

“I think it’s safe to say the cost of transporting students with disabilities is substantially higher than transporting those without them and plays a major role in the overall cost of educating our students with disabilities,” said Mitchell, who is also president of the National Association for Pupil Transportation.

Even if reimbursements go back into a school district’s general fund rather than the transportation department’s budget, she added, the dollars benefit the entire district and can be tracked back to the benefit of the transportation department in supporting areas such as personnel, training and equipment needs.

Of the 78,000 students Greenville County serves daily, nearly 16 percent are students with disabilities. The vat vast majority of those students, 88 percent according to Mitchell, receive the same transportation as non-disabled students and ride general education buses. The remaining 12 percent receive specialized transportation and are served on 111 specialized school buses.

Payment is based on a standard amount per trip. For the 2023-2024 school year, the amount was $13.35 per trip although the rate as of Oct. 1 has increased to $29.06. At the standard of $13.35 per trip, a typical school district of Greenville’s size could have expected to receive about $221,000 this school year, Mitchell calculated.

To file for reimbursement, school bus drivers are given a form that lists qualified students listed for the route in question and the dates transported. When two weeks of information has been recorded, a clerk who manages the program enters the information into the Medicaid system for payment.

The school district has routing software but as of this report wasn’t using for tracking Medicaid reimbursements. However, transportation staff were evaluating options for moving in that direction.

This step has already been taken at Colorado’s Weld County School District 6, said Chad Hawley, director of transportation. Routing software is now being used to track ridership in the district’s 60 routes, including 26 designated for serving students who require specialized transportation.

Software features include custom reporting functionality to capture and document data such as days qualifying students rode, where and what time they were picked up and dropped off, and which personnel were involved. A student information specialist incorporates the relevant details in a report that is shared with the Medicaid specialist in the district’s finance department.

Along with improved accuracy, the workload involved in reporting has been reduced.

“We used to have someone collect daily student counts from all of our specialized routes, input the data into a spreadsheet, and then send all the spreadsheets to the finance department,” Hawley noted. “The previous way was time consuming and not always accurate.”

Plans for a similar approach are in the works at El Dorado Union High School District in Placerville, California, where drivers log attendance and submit monthly reports for transportation provided to an average of 130 students who meet Medicaid requirements.

“When drivers turn in reports, they go first to our dispatchers, who enter the data into a shared spreadsheet,” said Sarah Lemke, director of transportation. “This spreadsheet is then accessible to both the finance team and the student success team, which also tracks our McKinney-Vento [Homeless Assistance Act] students.”

This collective info feeds into a report for both state and federal reimbursements.

Transportation staff currently use routing software to support route planning. “While it doesn’t track attendance directly, this capability is expected once we fully implement the software,” Lemke said, adding the goal is to have it fully operational to support Medicaid tracking this school year. “We’re working to streamline this process into one centralized system. The shared Google sheet we currently use has been very effective for transparency across departments, so we’re optimistic that routing will further enhance that.”

Services provided by an outside firm are central to Medicaid reporting at Hutto Independent School District, where the number of special needs riders has been growing. Currently, the school district located northeast of Austin, Texas transports 242 special needs students out of 4,568 total riders, an increase of 14 percent from last year. This necessitates running 15 routes for students with individualized education programs and 35 general routes with some specialty shuttles and McKinney-Vento routes as well, noted David Uecker, director of transportation.

“A contractor does the filing for us,” Uecker says. “We submit rider counts to the company with our [special education] department handling the reporting.”

Hutto leaders plan to enhance reporting with the implementation of new software. Slated for full adoption in the spring, that move will support tracking of riders with disabilities.

Some school districts have elected not to pursue Medicaid reimbursements, at least for now. That’s the case at Deer Creek School District in Edmond, Oklahoma. The district currently utilizes eight routes to transport 100 students with IEPs each school day but meets those demands without additional federal funding.

“The time it takes to go through the reimbursement process makes it difficult to pursue and maintain districtwide,” said Robert Feinberg, transportation director, echoing a common sentiment of peers nationwide.

At the same time, that decision is subject to review. “There is always a possibility of us beginning to use the program,” Feinberg noted. “Our district will continue to evaluate the process versus the manpower it would take to submit the claims.” He said one scenario that might prompt Deer Creek to begin seeking Medicaid funding would be if the school district experienced a large influx of students who meet reimbursement requirements.

Making It Work
Dealing with the federal government is never simple, and the Medicaid reimbursement process is no exception.

Given the complexity involved, good organization is a must. “Prioritize organization from the beginning,” Lemke said. “And establish a reliable system for collecting needed information in advance.”

The same goes for maintaining the necessary knowledge base. “Special needs transportation is definitely a challenge for many districts,” Feinberg said. “Knowing the local, state and federal laws pertaining to their transportation is vital.”

Targeted training can be a key to effective practice in this area, Mitchell pointed out.
“Training your drivers and attendants to be accurate and consistent can be a challenge, especially if you’re in a larger district,” said Mitchell.

Greenville addresses this need during new-hire training, with all incoming transportation employees receiving at least four days of training in transporting students with disabilities. That includes the Medicaid tracking and reporting process in addition to driver training instruction.

“During this training, we impress on the employees the importance of accuracy and remind them that their signature is their assurance that the form is accurate,” Mitchell added.

“Occasionally there may be updates to the process, and when this happens as it did recently, we schedule an in-service training and also give hand-outs with specific instructions.”

Even with the best training, mistakes can occur. To ensure accuracy, Mitchell said she has found it beneficial to have a staff member oversee the process and review the information generated.

Katrina Morris, who directs transportation at both West Shore Educational School District and Mason County Eastern School District in Michigan, advises those in transportation who have not yet pursued this type of funding to consider going for it.

A lot of districts do not realize that there is money for Medicaid reimbursement for students with special needs who require services,” said Morris, who is also the executive director for the Michigan Association for Pupil Transportation. “Please work with your special ed departments to see if this is an option to help receive the funding you are entitled to.”

Mitchell offered similar advice. “If your program is set up and maintained properly, it can run rather smoothly and bring much-needed funding back into the district to offset our diminishing budgets,” she concluded. “These funds can aid you in providing safe transportation with qualified staff.”

Editor’s Note: As reprinted in the January 2025 issue of School Transportation News.

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With the Trump administration set to take the Oval Office next week, school districts nationwide are bracing for the possibility of immigration raids targeting students at school bus stops and at school sites.

Education Week reported in December that school district officials are contemplating whether immigration agents will carry out arrests at schools and how they should respond. While reports indicate Tom Homan, named by President-elect Donald Trump to become his border czar, is focusing on undocumented immigrants posing a public safety threat, it is unclear how his response will unfold and how many students could be affected.

Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, noted that the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plyer v. Doe indicated “every child has the right to go to public school free of charge from kindergarten through 12th grade regardless of status.

“We interpret that as meaning unfettered access to school,” Saenz continued. “So, raids on school campuses are unconstitutional under that decision and should not occur. No enforcement action should occur on school grounds, because it interferes with the school experience of students based on their immigration status.”

The same should apply to school bus stops, he added.

“They should not be the place for any enforcement action nor should school buses themselves be the place for any enforcement action because that is an interference with the Constitutional right to attend school guaranteed by that Plyer decision,” he argued. “Despite the possibility that the new administration may eliminate the sensitive location memo, there would still be a Constitutional constraint on the ability to conduct immigration enforcement action in those settings that are directly related to school access.”

Saenz is referring to a 2021 U.S. Department of Homeland Security memo, Guidelines for Enforcement Actions in or Near Protected Areas, that lists schools and school bus stops as protected areas from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement.

“Our advice would be to any principal and superintendent that because of that Constitutional right, they are absolutely within their rights and indeed may be obligated to bar access to campuses absent a judicial warrant of some kind and a judicial warrant should be resisted because of that Constitutional right for kids to attend school regardless of their immigration status,” said Saenz.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration recently issued extensions of Temporary Protected Status to hundreds of thousands of people from Sudan, Ukraine and Venezuela. This allows immigrants to remain in the country with work permits and provides a shield from deportation for another 18 months from the expiration of their current protection in the spring.

The move was designed as a roadblock to President-elect Trump’s ability to swiftly strip the benefit upon taking office on Monday.

A New York Times article outlines other efforts now underway to address what may come. New York City school staff members have been instructed to ask immigration agents arriving at a public school to wait outside while they contact a school district lawyer. Since 2022, the school system has enrolled about 40,000 students who are immigrants.

Mount Diablo Unified School District northeast of San Francisco, California, is a case in point where parents anxious about deportation may be reticent to send their children to school, noted Superintendent Dr. Adam Clark.

The conservative think tank Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 noted that “all ICE memoranda identifying ‘sensitive zones’ where ICE personnel are prohibited from operating should be rescinded. Rely on the good judgment of officers in the field to avoid inappropriate situations.”

Project 2025 called upon states to “pass legislation that requires public schools to charge tuition for unaccompanied migrant children as well as children who are in the U.S. with their illegal-alien parents.

“Such legislation would draw a lawsuit from the Left, which would likely lead the [U.S.] Supreme Court to reconsider its ill-considered Plyler v. Doe decision that had no basis in law,” Project 2025 continued. “This reconsideration is warranted because the large number of unaccompanied alien children and mass illegal migration have significantly changed circumstances for states and localities.”

As reported on Dec. 11 by NBC News, the incoming Trump administration intends to rescind the Department of Homeland Security policy that has prevented ICE agents from arresting undocumented people at or near so-called sensitive locations as soon as the first day he is in office in what he has said he wants to be the “largest deportation operation in American history.”

Educators Seek Guidance

Education Week reported that to address uncertainties in ICE enforcement procedures, experts are suggesting schools should be proactive in educating staff about school policies on ICE interactions and in reminding families of their rights.

When contacted, some school districts expressed a reluctance to respond to questions from School Transportation News on this topic. One of those was California’s Oakland Unified School District was one of the declining contacts.

Denver Public Schools “has not been directly involved in the establishment of any sanctuary or safe zones for students” and “does not collect immigration status on any of our students,” noted Scott Pribble, the district’s director of external communications.

Pribble echoed the observation of others that the DHS’ lists marked or known school bus stops as protected areas in addition to the physical school site.

The National Association of School Resource Officers has not developed any guidance on the immigration issue, noted spokesperson Jay Farlow.

In preparing for potential ICE impacts, school district measures may include creating safe zone resolutions protecting students from immigration enforcement on school grounds and training staff including school bus drivers on how to respond if ICE appears at a school or bus stop, including understanding the students’ rights under state and federal law.

Protecting student privacy and providing resources to families — including emotional and psychological support — is another potential measure as well as collaboration with local governments for support and engaging in advocacy.

In November, Los Angeles television station KABC reported that Los Angeles schools reaffirmed their stance to protect students and their families regardless of citizenship status, with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) school board unanimously reaffirming its commitment to being a sanctuary district.

Since 2017, LAUSD has had a policy of refusing to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement actions, including sharing information about the immigration status of students and their families, the station reported.

LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvahlo indicated one concern is splitting families apart, where a student may be a natural-born citizen, but a parent is not. He said he has been working on a plan that includes training in multiple languages for school staff.

The Migration Policy Institute indicates some 5.5 million children, representing about 7 percent of the U.S. child population, lived with an unauthorized immigrant parent in 2019. Of those children, 726,000, or 13 percent are themselves unauthorized.

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In mid-December, the California Department of Education announced State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is sponsoring Senate Bill 48, legislation that aims to keep ICE agents off California campuses by establishing a one-mile radius safe zone around schools, as well as protect against the use of school data for deportation efforts.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez (D-33) on Dec. 16, would prevent schools from experiencing a drop-off in student attendance due to immigration concerns, which would directly and negatively impact critical funding.

The bill also doubles down on the commitment by the California Department of Education to safeguard students and families, maintaining schools as spaces where everyone has the right to an education.

In early December, California Attorney General Rob Bonta released guidance and model policies to assist California’s K-12 Schools in responding to immigration issues. For example, the guidance notes that schools are not compelled to provide ICE agents with access to student records if they only have an administrative warrant as opposed to a warrant signed by a judge nor should schools release private student information without parental consent as per federal law.

The guide includes model policies school districts could adopt.

In mid-December, Wendy Cervantes, director of immigration and immigrant families at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), released a statement that “any plan to rescind the protected areas policy is just part of a wider effort to instill fear in immigrant communities and deter parents from taking their child to the hospital or dropping them off at childcare or school.

“We witnessed how immigration enforcement efforts under the first Trump administration impacted participation in early childhood programs and deterred parents from accessing lifesaving services, creating stress for families, care providers, and entire communities,” she said. “The principles behind the protected areas policy are rooted in the recognition that immigration enforcement does not have to come at the cost of the health and well-being of children, including U.S. citizen children in mixed-status families.”

“With or without a formal DHS policy, we stand ready to ensure that families and care providers are informed about their rights and that families are able to meet their basic needs. We will not allow fear to stand in the way of human dignity.”

CLASP offers a guide to creating safe space policy for early childhood programs.

ImmSchools, a Texas nonprofit partnering with schools throughout the U.S. in creating a welcoming environment for immigrant students and families, concurred with others that districts should establish their own policies addressing responses to immigration enforcement.

The organization also offers school districts training for educators so they can best understand immigration laws and policies, so families know their rights.

The post School Districts Seek Student Protections from Immigration Enforcement appeared first on School Transportation News.

The school bus transportation industry has long grappled with a persistent challenge: A nationwide shortage of school bus drivers. Despite the critical role these professionals play in ensuring student safety and access to education, many school districts struggle to recruit and retain enough school bus drivers to meet demand not to mention other employees.

However, with the rise of social media platforms like TikTok, a new opportunity for outreach and recruitment has emerged. But this trend is not without its complications.

A New Era of Storytelling

Social media has transformed from a space for personal expression to a powerful marketing and engagement tool. TikTok, once synonymous with dance trends and lip-sync videos, is now a hub for creative content across industries. Businesses big and small use the platform for everything from showcasing products to building brands via influencers, other users who have amassed large followings. The school transportation industry is no exception.

School bus drivers have taken to TikTok to share their experiences, offering a glimpse into the daily life of a driver. Using hashtags like #schoolbusconversation, drivers showcase their passion for the job, hoping to inspire others to join the profession.

One standout influencer is Cor’Darius Jones, known by his handle Mr. Bus Driver. He has amassed over 61,000 followers to date on his TikTok channel by sharing engaging and informative content about school buses and driving them. (He is also on Instagram and Facebook.)

As an employee of Escambia County Schools, located on Florida’s panhandle and serving the Pensacola area, Jones has not only captured the hearts of viewers but also caught the attention of industry leaders, including IC Bus, which sponsors his content.

Jones’ videos extend beyond his daily routes. He attends trade shows, engages with industry professionals, and promotes the role of school bus drivers as an essential part of the education system. Notably, Jones will be speaking at the STN EXPO East near Charlotte, North Carolina, in March. He will join a panel discussion that will share insights on using social media as a recruitment and advocacy tool for the school transportation industry.

Jones said Escambia County Schools is aware of his social media work and has been supportive of the content.

“A lot of times my higher-ups give me ideas for a funny video to create,” he explained. “At first, I didn’t know how my district would take it, being that I was filming on the bus and making jokes about the job while still trying to make an informative message, but they started to follow and absolutely love the content. They look forward to every video I create.”

Jones said his journey into social media began during his second year as a school bus driver.

“I started the page going into my second year of driving and was giving everyone an inside look at what it’s like being a bus driver for different grade levels,” he recalled. “The post went viral on [Facebook], gaining over 500,000 views within the first week. People — parents, students, bus drivers, teachers, school staff, a ton of people — would message me to make more videos, and that’s what led to creating the Mr. Bus Driver page. I would just post day-to-day life. The most relatable part is that it’s very much true and has happened to me and a ton of other drivers.”

His partnership with IC Bus, the manufacturer of the vehicle he drives everyday, and collaboration with school district officials exemplifies how social media can be leveraged to address driver shortages by highlighting the job’s rewarding aspects, as well as the universal experiences that resonate with the broader community.

“When we came across Cor’Darius Jones, more widely known as Mr. Bus Driver, it was clear he was a champion of student safety and the driver community in his own right,” commented Christy Zukowski, the senior marketing manager for IC Bus. “Those who have seen Mr. Bus Driver’s videos on their social feeds know that his passion for his career as a driver is contagious. With his unique ability to educate, entertain and connect while spreading awareness of the importance of safety best practices, Mr. Bus Driver is an empowering voice in the industry and an admirable example of the dedicated drivers who keep us moving forward.”

Navigating the Challenges

While influencers like Jones have received district support and industry backing, not all school bus drivers receive the same level of oversight — or approval — for their social media activities. The integration of government property and social media monetization raises questions about ethics and compliance.

A transportation director from a school district in the western U.S. speaking anonymously to School Transportation News expressed concern over school bus drivers creating TikTok videos without the district’s knowledge.

Like many government agencies, the director noted, transportation staff does not have access to TikTok. “So, this was not something we were monitoring,” the director added. “There are issues with broadcasting on social media in uniform, using district equipment, acting as a spokesperson without authorization, and generating revenue while on paid status.”

The director revealed that one school bus driver had been filming TikTok videos while wearing a uniform with the school district logo visible despite an attempt to obscure it. This implied, the director explained, that the driver in question was officially representing the district without having prior permission to film content. Upon discovering the videos, transportation department management addressed the issue directly with the driver as well as others, instructing them to take down any content that might appear to represent the district.

“It’s important to ensure that employees don’t unintentionally present themselves as spokespersons for the district without authorization,” the director emphasized.

The challenges outlined in this scenario highlight a key tension: While these videos can inspire and educate, they also risk crossing professional and legal boundaries. School buses are government property, and filming content for personal or financial gain without explicit consent could violate district policies or government regulations. Moreover, the perception of using public resources for private profit can risk the reputations of school bus drivers and their school district or bus company employers. Clear communication and well-defined policies are essential to navigating these challenges.

STN reviewed dozens of TikTok, Instagram and Facebook videos posted by school bus drivers. Many of them made attempts, not all successful, to obstruct or blur any identifying district names or logos on uniforms. Videos included school bus drivers talking about their jobs and experiences while seated behind the wheel, performing pre-trip inspections, and even driving the vehicle with students on board. Any students were blurred out, and at least one post appeared to use interior school bus camera video footage.

Weighing the Pros and Cons

Social media’s potential to promote the profession and recruit new drivers is undeniable. Videos showcasing the camaraderie, dedication and unique aspects of the job can counter misconceptions and attract individuals who otherwise might not have considered the role. Drivers like Cor’Darius “Mr. Bus Driver” Jones demonstrate that with proper support and guidance, social media can be a valuable tool for advocacy and outreach.

However, districts must address the potential pitfalls. Without clear policies and communication, drivers may unintentionally breach regulations or face disciplinary actions. Establishing guidelines around social media use, including seeking prior approval for content involving district equipment, could help strike a balance between creativity and compliance.

However, the future of TikTok, one of the most influential platforms for creators and businesses alike, remains uncertain. The app has faced ongoing legal battles and scrutiny, with federal and state governments questioning its data privacy practices and connections to its parent company, ByteDance, in China. These concerns have led to restrictions on TikTok’s use on government devices and recurring threats of a nationwide ban.

President-elect Donald Trump will take office a day after a Biden administration ban is set to take effect. While Trump previously sought to ban the app due to national security concerns, he now said he acknowledges the platform’s significance as a cultural and economic influencer. He has suggested the possibility of maintaining TikTok under stricter regulations to ensure compliance with U.S. laws and protect user data, offering a lifeline to a platform that continues to thrive amid legal and political uncertainty.

This past week, the U.S. Supreme Court said it will take up the case on Jan. 10 and will not block TikTok while it considers the issue.

Regardless, district leaders and transportation directors generally lack access to TikTok today, making it difficult to monitor or even be aware of the content their drivers are creating. This limitation further complicates oversight and highlights the importance of proactive communication between drivers and their supervisors.

But without access to TikTok and other social media services, district leaders may miss opportunities to guide or support school bus drivers who are using the platform to share their experiences. Additionally, the inability to monitor content means districts are often unaware of potential compliance issues, such as filming during work hours, using district equipment, or presenting themselves as spokespersons without authorization. Addressing these gaps requires clear policies and training, ensuring drivers understand the boundaries of their creative freedom while still leveraging social media to inspire and educate.

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Related: You Tweeted What? Social Media Policies and Issues for Student Transporters

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Moving Forward

To fully harness the benefits of social media while mitigating risks, collaboration between drivers, districts, and industry leaders is essential. Districts should consider the following steps:

1. Develop Clear Policies: Provide written guidelines on social media use, including what is permissible when using district property or uniforms.
2. Training and Communication: Offer training sessions on responsible social media practices, ensuring drivers understand the potential legal and ethical implications.
3. Encourage Collaboration: Facilitate partnerships between drivers and district officials to align content creation with district goals and recruitment efforts.

The passion and creativity of school bus drivers have the potential to reshape perceptions of the profession and address critical driver shortages. By establishing clear boundaries and fostering open communication, districts can support drivers in sharing their stories while maintaining professionalism and integrity. Social media is a powerful tool, when used responsibly or not. It can bring much-needed attention to the essential work of school bus drivers and inspire the next generation to join their ranks.

Despite the controversies, TikTok and other social media sites remain powerful tools for promoting small and large businesses and enabling content creators to connect with audiences worldwide. For school bus drivers and other professionals, it has provided a unique avenue to inspire change and attract talent to under-appreciated roles. The uncertainty surrounding TikTok’s future highlights the need for districts to remain vigilant, crafting adaptable policies to maximize its benefits while navigating potential risks in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

In addition to being a frequent STN contributor, S.Z. Estavillo is a social media professional and consultant with over 90,000 followers across her various channels.

The post Social Media as a Recruitment Tool: School Bus Driver Influencers appeared first on School Transportation News.

The New York Times referred to the major IT outage in July involving Microsoft and CrowdStrike as the “glitch felt around the world.” In today’s digital age amid an increased presence of artificial intelligence tools, it’s no surprise that keeping sensitive data safe is a rising concern for the student transportation industry.

During his STN EXPO West keynote presentation in July, Keith Krueger, the chief executive officer for the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), discussed the results of an annual survey of school IT leaders that indicated a shift in the top five technology priorities. The number one challenge for the past three years was cybersecurity. Data Privacy & Security, which had been sitting at No. 5 in 2022, moved up to No. 2. Network Infrastructure was third followed by the up-and-coming challenges of Determining AI Strategy and IT Crisis Preparedness.

Transportation departments are handling large amounts of data, including but not limited to onboard video camera footage, student ridership verification, telematics, and transportation employee information.

With these large amounts of data, it’s also important that school districts and vehicle contractors are equipped to effectively use and analyze the data, which could increasingly incorporate the application of AI.

Different facets of data and information security were discussed at the 2024 STN EXPO West conference in Reno, Nevada, in July. During these sessions, speakers and vendors discussed how increased technology offerings also require due diligence in protecting the data that is run through and stored in a given solution.

In one of the STN EXPO West sessions, representatives from Geotab and Tyler Technologies led a discussion titled “What Do I Do with All of this Data? Using Artificial Intelligence and Business Intelligence tools in Student Transportation.” Craig Berndt, the segment manager for student transportation at Geotab, noted that he is expecting AI to be a rising trend.

“Machine learning is like teaching your dog to fetch, except your dog is a computer and fetching is recognizing patterns in data,” he explained. Some of the applications using AI to track data discussed in the sessions included risk management, predictive maintenance, driver training, tracking student attendance, and continuous learning that can assist in effective routing planning.

Berndt noted that historically there has been much conjecture surrounding AI, and a lot of that is hyperbolic. Geotab displayed its new AI assistant software Geotab Ace at the STN EXPO West Trade Show. Berndt added that Geotab protects transportation data by keeping it on a private, secure server. He explained it’s important to know how your data tools work and exactly where the data is landing.

“No one here would put your student data into ChatGPT. Our goal with generative AI is to get away from the staff having to analyze reporting. Would you like to be told what trends are from a reliable source or have to go through the data yourself?” he noted.

Berndt said that it’s important to stay on top of trends in AI, data security and analysis, commenting that “Artificial intelligence isn’t going to take away your job. People who know how to use artificial intelligence are going to take your job.”

Protecting sensitive student data was the topic of a panel discussion moderated by Rick Hays, deputy chief information officer at the Nevada Department of Transportation. Hays holds a doctorate in cybersecurity, served in the U.S. Air Force, and worked for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, an arm of Homeland Security. He has extensively worked on military and government levels to further cybersecurity safety practices.

Panelist Jennifer Vobis, who has since retired as executive director of transportation for Clark County School District in Nevada, spoke about a 2020 security breach that affected 40,000 district employees. It wasn’t until three years later that the district discovered information had been sold on the dark web. Vobis said that while her department assumed IT had the data security covered, it’s important to fully understand how those imperfect safeguards affect transportation operations.

Hays noted that many ransomware attacks begin with an email, an easy-to-overlook threat. His advice was to take a moment to analyze the message and sender, and “think before you click.”

“Balance the drive to get tasks done with making sure we know what it is we’re doing,” added panelist Lam Nguyen-Bull, a consultant at Edulog and an attorney, explaining that it’s everyday behavior that creates the most risk.

She continued that understanding and managing data flow and security starts with understanding that “data is just information,” whether physical or digital. Just as Berndt noted, Hays also emphasized the importance of knowing exactly where data is at all times. When it’s being used, when it’s being stored and when it’s in transit. Encryption must be present at all these levels, he explained.

Nguyen-Bull continued that data in storage is the easiest stage to protect it. When data is in transit across the web, it is generally protected by a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). When it’s being used it is protected by a firewall in a closed environment.

“What makes it vulnerable is when it’s between stages,” she said. “When it’s not being managed by a system.”

Nguyen-Bull used the example of a parent portal app, which she referred to as “a perfectly safe product if you use it right.” Ensuring that only the relevant parties can view data or a particular school bus location, or that a tablet onboard the bus is locked is the responsibility of the owners of the data. “Know what your responsibilities
are regarding the data you handle, you need to know the policies,” said Hays.

The human element of safely managing and effectively protecting data is a team effort, said Vobis, but it may be a teaching moment if all the staff is not up to date on technological education and cybersecurity training. Even though some of these practices may be considered common sense, the panel stressed the importance of covering all your bases and making sure each member of the team understands the implications of data breaches.

When things go wrong, and Nguyen-Bull noted that they will, it’s crucial to have an action plan in place to not only get the issue under control but to understand what happened and how it can be prevented in the future.

During a security audit situation, like one a “white hat” firm performed on Edulog last year, “We don’t usually like to answer questions, but understand we’re not being attacked. [Auditors] are just trying to understand,” she explained. “Be collaborative, learn from other people’s experiences. Despite best efforts to lock things down, there is always a high risk.”

We always think it’ll never happen to us,” said Vobis. Even after the situation at Clark County was resolved, she said there was an impact on how information was shared. Vobis cited an example of improper information sharing via Google Suites, where security privacy settings weren’t on. Nguyen-Bull referenced receiving an email with an attached unencrypted spreadsheet containing detailed data on student riders.

“Practice doesn’t make perfect, but practice does make it better,” said Nguyen-Bull, recommending that districts run tabletop exercises to prepare for when the “unthinkable does happen.”

All the panelists advised that student transporters take time to find out their organization’s cyber policies and security protocols.

Hays spoke to the widespread variety and type of ransomware and cyberattacks, noting that they can happen to very small and extremely large organizations, alike. He advised that transportation departments should have software in place to scan incoming files for possible attacks and that transportation should coordinate with the district to ensure security protocols for transferring or receiving data is being upheld throughout all operations.

Nguyen-Bull noted that even though it may seem like data is spread out between multiple people or databases, it can be easy for that information to get centralized somewhere within the district. She continued that predictive computation could use any amount or type of data to create complete pictures.

“Data is permanent, in all forms,” said Hays. “It can come back to bite you, no matter what stage it’s in.”

Both he and Nguyen-Bull advised being cautious with “new and improved AI” technology that is being created to meet the demand of ever-increasing data. Hays referenced the addage “Trust but verify,” which he said is applicable to all of us, in our personal and professional lives.

In a continually evolving digital landscape, Nguyen-Bull said that while she does work for a software company, she makes sure to prioritize people with face-to-face and voice interactions.

“Don’t reduce everything to digital.”

Editor’s Note: As reprinted in the November 2024 issue of School Transportation News.

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The post Managing Transportation Data and Keeping It Safe appeared first on School Transportation News.

Ohio’s school districts are facing an uphill battle to meet state student transportation requirements amid a persistent school bus driver shortage, resulting in financial penalties and a high-profile lawsuit filed by the state attorney general. 

The lawsuit and related fines levied against school districts for noncompliance with state regulations detail how the struggles in providing timely and reliable bus services for both public and non-public school students.

The compliance issues are in the spotlight after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit against Columbus City Schools in September, accusing the district of failing to fulfill its statutory transportation obligations. This lawsuit has added to the urgency for Ohio’s school districts, which are already contending with a shortage of qualified school bus drivers, to find solutions that will ensure the safety and punctuality of school transportation across the state.

Attorney General Yost’s lawsuit claims that Columbus City Schools failed to provide transportation for students attending charter and private schools, a legal requirement under Ohio law. According to the lawsuit, Columbus City Schools labeled the transportation of these students as “impractical” and did not notify parents until days before the school year began, which left families scrambling to find alternate transportation.

“As a parent and grandparent, I understand the importance of making sure every child has a safe way to get to and from school,” Yost said at the time. “These families have a right to choose what school is best for their child, and the law is clear that transportation is to be provided.”

The lawsuit seeks a writ of mandamus compelling Columbus City Schools to resume transportation services for affected students immediately and to properly notify parents of their rights. The Attorney General’s office also issued a cease-and-desist letter to the district on Sept. 3, suggesting that the district’s failure to comply is suspected of being a deliberate attempt to circumvent legal obligations.

Last month, Columbus City Schools extended transportation service to about 100 students who were previously denied service and filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Yost in a statement said he is not convinced and remains undeterred.

“It remains to be seen whether the district will live up to its press release and really transport these children,” he said. “The state already has received some information suggesting that it is not. … Simply put, this case is far from over.”

Fines and Compliance Challenges Across Ohio

According to data from the Ohio Department of Education, Columbus City Schools is not the only district facing compliance challenges. The department has collected substantial fines from several districts over the past couple of years due to delays in meeting transportation standards, which the school districts claimed were the result of school bus driver shortages.

In fiscal year 2024 alone, over $7.3 million in penalties were imposed on Columbus City Schools for failing to meet timing and operational requirements under Ohio Revised Code 3327.021. Youngstown School District was fined $1.91 million, while the state will collect nearly $250,000 from Middleton City Schools. The total of $9.5 million was 472 percent more than the state collected for fiscal year 2023 ($1.66 million) and 70 percent more than for fiscal year 2022 ($5.6 million).

An Ohio Department of Education spokesperson confirmed that refunds received by Columbus City Schools, Dayton City Schools and Toledo Public Schools were were the result of litigation settlement agreements.

So far for fiscal year 2025, the data indicates a $2.2 million fine to Columbus City Schools.

Under Ohio law, school districts are considered “out of compliance” if students arrive at school more than 30 minutes late or are picked up more than 30 minutes after dismissal for five consecutive days or 10 total days within a school year. Additionally, if a school bus fails to arrive at all, the district may also face penalties. These regulations are intended to ensure the reliability of transportation for all students, including those attending charter and private schools.

Todd Silverthorn, the second vice president of the Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation and director of transportation for Kettering Local City Schools, provided additional context on the challenges facing Ohio school districts. He explained that the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce is conducting a timing study to assess district compliance with Ohio Administrative Code 3301-83-05. This study evaluates whether routes are practical and efficient based on the most direct path between public and non-public schools.

Silverthorn emphasized the complexities of the timing study, as fluctuating student enrollment and significant bus driver shortages complicate compliance efforts. He noted that while state regulations are meant to uphold standards, the severe staffing shortfall has left school districts like Columbus City scrambling to cover essential routes, often falling short of the required timing standards.

“While state lawmakers may argue that there is adequate funding for transportation, the core issue is not funding but staffing,” Silverthorn said. “Districts are facing increasing difficulty in attracting and retaining qualified bus drivers. This isn’t about budget limitations but about the challenges inherent in the role [of driving] itself.”

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The Impact of Ohio’s Decreased School Bus Driver Staffing Level

The statewide bus driver shortage has intensified the transportation crisis. Before the pandemic, Ohio employed 25,706 active bus drivers. By August, that number had dropped to 18,817. This shortfall is affecting the 612 public school districts and over 1,000 chartered non-public schools statewide, many of which depend on reliable transportation services.

The role of an Ohio school bus driver requires a Class B commercial driver’s license, criminal background checks, drug and alcohol screenings, and the responsibility of managing student safety and behavior. The part-time hours and split shifts many school bus drivers receive combined with a high level of responsibility have deterred many potential applicants, creating a pipeline problem that exacerbates the staffing crisis.

As a result, school districts face challenges in meeting the compliance standards set forth by Ohio law, especially when drivers resign or retire. Schools have reported delays, cancellations and logistical obstacles that disrupt the school day and create stress for families.

In response to these challenges, school districts have implemented various strategies to optimize transportation resources. Some districts have consolidated school bus routes, modified school start times, and offered incentives such as signing bonuses and wage increases to attract and retain bus drivers. However, these adjustments are only temporary solutions to a deep-rooted problem.

“The reality is that we need a multi-faceted approach. This means not only increasing recruitment efforts but also rethinking the job to make it more appealing,” Silverthorn said.

If or until that happens, school districts like Columbus City Schools will continue to face pressure from state to provide transportation services on time and consistently.

“It shouldn’t take a lawsuit and an emergency motion to decide to follow the law. Columbus City Schools admitted the law was to transport the children. Glad these kids are finally getting the transportation they were entitled to,” Yost added last month. “But this is not the end. There are more kids who still are not receiving transportation despite the district’s clear obligation to provide it.”

The post Ohio School Districts Face Mounting Compliance, Staffing Challenges Amid Legal Battle appeared first on School Transportation News.

Cell phones in the classrooms have been a hot topic amid new state laws banning the devices, but they have long been on the minds of educators including those on school buses. Teachers have historically viewed cell phones as a disruption in educational settings because students are prone to pay more attention to their electronics instead of focusing on the classroom lesson. That is a big reason why 76 percent of schools nationwide prohibited non academic use of cell phones and other communication devices in the 2021-2022 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

In general, cell phone and electronics users have been found to be distracted by their use. On a school bus, these devices can be a welcome distraction for students, especially during long commutes. But they can also present challenges. At a moment’s notice students can visit inappropriate sites or record a crash, a student fight, even a school bus driver meltdown.

Mounting evidence illustrates the issue. A 2019 report from cell phone insurance company Asurion found that Americans check their phones an average of 96 times a day. While the American Psychological Association reported in 2018 that 43 percent of American adults “almost constantly” check their phones, admitting to disruption in their work and personal lives. So, it’s no surprise that a recent 2021 Reviews.org report showed young adults (18-24) spent 5.4 hours daily on their phones.

California law already gives school districts the leeway to pass cell phone bans for classrooms. The Los Angeles Unified School District school board enacted such a ban on cell phones that takes effect in January. The Golden State seeks to take the next step with Assembly Bill 3216 that passed the California State Legislature in late August to prohibit or limit smartphone usage by students any time they are under the supervision of school personnel. This includes from the moment students step onto school buses.

Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged support for the bill and it was expected to become law at this report, to take effect on July 1, 2026.

“As the [U.S.] Surgeon General affirmed, social media is harming the mental health of our youth,” Newsom said in June. “When children and teens are in school, they should be focused on their studies, not their screens.”

Social media is known to dominate children’s screen time use, potentially distracting them from learning. A Pew Research Center report found that 95 percent of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 have access to a smartphone, with many using it to engage on social media. About 46 percent of teens report being online “almost constantly.” Among the most popular platforms, 19 percent of teens say they use YouTube almost constantly, while 16 percent say the same about TikTok. Additionally, more than half of teens use social media daily, with 54 percent saying it would be difficult to give up.

LAUSD Board member Nick Melvoin spearheaded the Los Angeles resolution, highlighting concerns about how cell phone use, especially when combined with social media, exacerbates mental health issues like anxiety and cyberbullying. He also noted that, much like adults, students are increasingly glued to their devices.

“They’re surreptitiously scrolling in school, in class time, or have their head in their hands, walking down the hallways. They’re not talking to each other or playing at lunch or recess because they have their AirPods in,” Melvoin said. In addition to classrooms, the ban would extend to lunch time and other breaks between classes.

The benefits of cell phone bans on school buses would be the same reason they’re limited in classrooms. As Melvoin pointed out, students aren’t engaging with one another when glued to screens. This could lead to unhealthy anti-social behaviors and fixation on social media. According to Yale Medicine, American teens between the ages of 12-15 who spent at least three hours a day on social media were twice as likely to experience depression and anxiety.

Cell Phone Usage in Buses:
In comparison to the school year, which is typically 180 days long or a certain amount of classroom time, students who ride the school bus spend an average of 146 hours, or roughly 24 days on the school bus. According to Kajeet, a company that creates Wi-Fi hotspots on school buses, the time on the school bus has become an opportunity for students to do their homework.

Kajeet SmartBus solutions offer Wi-Fi connections on school buses. But it filters out social media and streaming video to make student web experiences education-based limited to class research, homework and related apps. Kajeet stressed that school buses are an ideal place for students to do their homework.

But Kajeet and other Wi-Fi hotspot providers can’t block inappropriate content or track usage on cell phones or other devices because they use individual data plans rather than the school district network.

Another potential benefit to students having cell phones on their person in school buses is they can call their parents or dial 911 during emergency situations, as illustrated again recently with the fatal Appalachee High School shooting in Georgia. According to Care.com, parents and students feel safer when they have their cell phones at hand.

The LAUSD cell phone ban policy still needs to be written, leaving the question open about school bus rides.

“The district is still in the discussion and planning phase of the policy, so nothing has been finalized or determined,” LAUSD spokesman Britt Vaughn told STN.

Florida was the first state to pass a cell phone ban last year. A representative of the Florida Department of Education did not respond to STN questions about the impact on school bus rides. But a House of Representatives fiscal note says the law authorizes local school boards to ban the devices on “school property.” That includes school buses.

Ohio and Indiana have similar laws, but officials there did not respond to requests for comment. But Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) in Virginia, where Gov. Glen Youngkin signed a cell phone ban into law in July, did.

Dan Adams, the public information officer for LCPS, told STN that a cell phone ban policy is meant to strike a balance between embracing technology’s educational potential and minimizing disruptions.

“By establishing clear guidelines for when and how students can use their devices, LCPS aims to foster a productive academic environment while also nurturing responsible digital citizenship among our students,” he said.

When asked how the ban has affected student behavior and focus during school hours, Adams noted that it’s too early to provide comprehensive feedback. “It was just enacted this school year, so we’ll have to wait and see,” he said, adding that the policy’s long-term impact will likely be monitored over the course of the academic year.

But Adams confirmed the ban applies to school buses. The state’s guidance issued last month requires school system to establish procedures for off-site events and activities, including transportation.

“Buses are considered an extension of the school, so the policy can be enforced there as well if they become an issue, but the policy is really designed to focus on instructional time,” he explained.

Regarding any exceptions to the policy, Adams assured that students with valid medical or educational needs would not be denied access to their devices. “This policy will not deny students with a valid accommodation access to their personal devices. Parents, guardians, multi-disciplinary team members, including Section 504 teams and Individualized Education Program teams, or other persons with knowledge of students who require access to personally owned devices as an accommodation shall request such accommodations through their respective teams,” Adams said.

When discussing potential safety concerns related to students not having access to their phones on school buses, Adams emphasized, “LCPS has a robust and nationally recognized safety plan in place to keep students and staff safe.”

Adams also acknowledged the potential need to adjust the policy. “We will monitor the situation as the school year progresses and can always make adjustments if needed,” he said, when asked about the trade-off between reduced distractions and potential safety concerns related to lack of cell phone access.

Adams noted community feedback to the ban has been largely positive. “The new policy has been very well received, and even students have recognized they have better conversations in class with their peers and teachers when the phones are away,” he concluded.

Editor’s Note: As reprinted in the October 2024 issue of School Transportation News.

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The post States Ban Student Cell Phones in Class: What About in School Buses? appeared first on School Transportation News.