If terrorists want to strike at the heart of America, they will strike at its children. I made that comment before and after the 9/11 attacks on United States. This past weekend’s ISIS attacks in Paris, France, are a tragic reminder that this comment still applies now, if not more than ever, here in America […]
Category Archive: Transportation School Bus Security
School bus driver evaluations should include ride-alongs and safety assessments
A Florida jury recently rendered a decision on a case in which I served as an expert witness. The incident involved one student attacking another student on a school bus. I found it surprising during my case review that the school district did not require annual ride-alongs as part of bus drivers’ annual evaluations. It […]
School bus drivers got security training for Republican convention
Driving a school bus is a tough job on a “normal” school day. Imagine how tough the job was for Hillsborough County Schools’ bus drivers who had to drive in the security footprint for the Republican National Convention last week in Tampa. And oh, by the way, did we mention there was also a hurricane […]
School transportation conference showcases tornado safety lessons – Part II
Chuck Hibbert provides Part II of his insights from faciliating a session at the School Transportation Association of Indiana’s annual conference that highlighted the leadership and heroism of West Clark Community School District transportation staff and district administrators when an EF4 tornado struck in Henryville, Indiana. Guest Post by Chuck Hibbert Part II of this blog article continues with […]
School transportation conference showcases tornado safety lessons – Part I
Chuck Hibbert, my colleague and fellow school safety consultant, generously authored a two-part blog piece highlighting his recent experience facilitating a general session of the School Transportation Association of Indiana’s 39th annual conference in French Lick, Indiana. The session highlighted the leadership and heroism displayed by West Clark Community School District transportation staff and district […]
Tornado, hijacking show value of school bus driver safety training
The response of school bus drivers to a tornado in Henryville, Indiana, and to a school bus hijacking in Henry County, Georgia, reinforce the importance of training school transportation staff on safety, security and crisis / emergency preparedness procedures. On March 2nd in Indiana, school bus drivers for the West Clark Community Schools reacted quickly […]
Engaging Support Staff in School Emergency Planning
School bus drivers, secretaries, food service staff, and custodians are on the front-lines in schools. But are they on the front lines in school emergency preparedness training and planning? School bus drivers are the first and last school employees to see many students each school day, and face the challenges of managing the behavior and […]
Pop Quiz on School Safety: School Transportation Needs During a Crisis
If your school transportation director, superintendent, or principal is asked these three questions about school transportation crisis preparedness issues, could they immediately answer each one? If you had to mobilize school buses at 10:45am to simultaneously evacuate your three largest schools, what is the response time from when the request is made until the first bus shows up […]