Agility Station: Keeping School Bus Drivers in Shape

By Ryan Gray

New laws in several states that require school bus drivers to pass agility tests, and First Student is holding all of its drivers accountable for staying fit. They either pass, or they don't drive.

The State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill., describes how the test is affecting 350 local First Student employees who have until Nov. 1 to pass their tests or be grounded. One driver is 70 years old and passed, and drivers who don't can retake it as many times as needed. Writes the Journal-Register:

The point is to make sure the drivers have enough strength and endurance to act quickly in emergencies.

Drivers are expected to drag a 125-pound bag the length of a bus in 30 seconds, run up and down bus steps three times within 30 seconds and run from the front to the back of the bus and scoot down to the ground outside in 20 seconds.

But not all are happy with the new requirement. Driver unions are crying foul saying the tests violate civil rights. Some users on a online school bus driving forum call some of the tests "stupid" while others agree that drivers must meet certain basic physical requirement because of the important cargo they drive, the children. Others express frustration about additional requirements being placed on their positions but they still receive the same low pay.

North Carolina District to Teachers: Learn How to Drive Yellow

Need more evidence of the strain being put on school budgets? Look no further than a disturbing news item that ran last month in the Daily Herald of Roanoke, N.C.

The district eliminated at least 12 school bus driver positions due to budget constraints and will fill those vacancies with assistant teachers who are already on staff. The teachers were set to receive school bus driver training this summer.

By all accounts, Roanoke Rapids Grading School District is much accomplished and innovative. The school's Web site says that it was the first public school district in the state to offer 12 grades and the first to offer Kindergarten. It's won state and national awards for student achievement and boasts the largest number of National Board Certified teachers of any school district in North Carolina, which by the way can mean a 12 percent pay increase. During the upcoming 2009-2010 school year, it would seem that some of those teachers will be working even harder for their wages after the school board voted to eliminate school bus driver positions.

Doug Miller, RRGSD maintenance director, said the school planned to use money from the state for transportation costs to supplement the teachers' incomes.

“What we’re trying to do is provide enough work for teacher assistants. The state is cutting their funding," Miller told the Daily Herald. "We’re trying to keep them around because of the work they do. It’s because of them that we’ve had such good test scores.”

Here's hoping that the district's student safety statistics don't suffer as a result.

Train the Trainer with Dick Fischer

For those of you in the Midwest, our colleague Trans-Colsult Dick Fischer will be offering a 40-hour school bus driver "Train the Trainer" program. On June 8-12 in Seymour, Ind., and June 22-26 in Salina, Kans., Fischer will teach 20 hours of classroom training and 20 hours of behind-the-wheel-training to those looking to get the skills they need to train other drivers. Attendees will also get a 550-page training manual covering 35 subjects for more info email Fischer. More on Fischer and Trans-Consult at our industry contact page.

@ STN EXPO 2009: How School Bus Drivers Can Stop Sexual Predators

Recently, we announced that author, law enforcement professional and member of one of Florida's Child Abduction Response Teams Dr. Duane Dobbert will present a four-hour pre-conference session as well as a general session on identifying sexual predators. So far, Dobbert has trained thousands of pupil transporters in his program "School Bus Drivers: The First Line of Defense Against Sexual Predators." Said Dobbert:

“In all of my 39 years of service I have never met a group of professionals more dedicated and active in getting the job done and protecting children ... School bus drivers are truly my heroes, and I wish everyone in the United States would realize the wonderful service they provide to our school age children.”

In the video below, Dobbert expands on the idea:



More about this year's School Transportation News Conference and EXPO at www.stnconference.com. More about Dobbert at www.drduanedobbert.com.

Nuts About Peanut Allergies?

Over the last several years, we've heard quite a bit about peanut allergies and school-wide bans on the nuts. In an article worth reading, Today's Parent looks at a different take on the problem: telling district personnel about the child's condition and training them in how to use EipiPens.

The conversation would surprise most school administrators and parents, who’ve grown accustomed to no-nuts policies at schools, daycares and other places where children gather. Calon didn’t want Trinity’s school to ban peanut butter or anything else containing nuts. She simply wanted the teachers to know who her daughter was, where her epinephrine auto-injector (EpiPen) was located and how to use it if Trinity was in trouble.

What does your operation do about peanut bans and training drivers in treating students that suffer from peanut allergies, bee sting allergies or diabetes? (thanks for the link, Bruce)