School districts work on bus safety plans for when students return to classrooms
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ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. (KMOV) — Area school districts are still working on bus safety plans for when students return to the classroom.
At the Parkway School District there will be changes on board. Students will have assigned seats with the goal of one student per seat. They will also be required to wear masks. Windows will be kept open when possible to increase open air circulation.
And when the bus gets loaded, it will be done from the back of the bus to the front of the bus.
Here’s something else parents might be interested in. Bus drivers will not take children’s temperatures.
“I want all parents to know that we are going to take every precaution,” Parkway Operations Manager Stephen Jones said.
The district is also encouraging parents to drive children to school themselves if possible.
Another challenge the district is facing is recruiting bus drivers, which was already a job that was facing a shortage before the pandemic. Jones said they’ve reached out to drivers who are immuno-compromised saying they’re welcome to return to work when they feel comfortable.
Mary Taylor is one of Parkway’s new bus drivers. She said she plans for follow every precaution to keep the students and herself safe.
“Even though we’re in the middle of a pandemic, with everything going on, I think we’re trying to put everything in place and be as safe as we can be,” Taylor said.
The same is true in the Hazelwood School District.
According to the Hazelwood District, taking temperatures would be problematic for several reasons: it could cause a bottleneck of kids, it would take a lot of time, and possibly impact classroom instruction time.
Also, taking a temperature and then refusing to allow a child to board could result in bullying if done in front of other children.
Temperature alone is also not enough to determine if a child has COVID or is sick, a spokesperson for Hazelwood said.
Hazelwood will also have hand sanitizing dispensers on board, and mandatory masks for drivers and kids grades 3 through 12.
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