Storing Backpacks Safely and Sensibly Nationwide, students are gearing up to board yellow buses once
again. For the first couple of days there will be little for them to carry to and from school, but as soon as textbooks get handed out and homework starts being assigned, students will be loading up their backpacks — and school buses — with heavy books and binders. As many buses do not offer storage compartments as factory options, most kids hold their bags or stuff them under the seats. “In the Nevada State Training Manual, Nevada requires that
drivers: ‘…need to know what type of equipment you will be re- quired to carry. You will need to be sure that you have proper storage space for extra equipment. In no event shall aisles, doors, steps or emergency exits be blocked,’” explained Nevada State Director Diana Hollander. “If the equipment is excessive, then it needs to be transported in a district vehicle and follow the bus.” Depending on the students’ maturity levels, some districts, like Elk
Grove (Calif.) Unified School District outside of Sacramento, store backpacks up front with the driver, unless they use an older bus. “While our older cut-away buses had screened compartments for
personal items, the newer vans and conventional buses they’re being replaced with lack this ‘amenity.’ Te manufacturers don’t seem to have any options or suggestions for a more secure storage system,”
said Kevin Sellstrom, special education scheduler for Elk Grove. At the Oregon Child Development Coalition, a Head Start pro-
vider, the buses have large boxes installed in them to hold a lot of the stuff that the children bring with them. STN EXPO regular Susan Hunt, transportation services coordinator for OCDC, had to request a waiver from the state in order to do this. But, she added, the fix has worked very well. “Te boxes are secured to the floor, covered with flame retar-
dant material and have a clasp on them. Tey do take up a seating position but are well worth it for our program,” said Hunt. At LEADS Head Start in Newark, Ohio, Debbie Wright has
found another solution. Since the district only puts two children per seat and uses SafeGuard Star safety seats, there is room be- tween the two children to place their backpacks. Most children in the program bring backpacks to school, and Wright admitted that sometimes they do end up on the floor in front of the riders. “Tere are times that children bring something into school
that will not fit in the backpack. We store it in the seat with the bus monitor. I know not everyone is as fortunate to have moni- tors, but when we didn’t, on our buses there is room behind the driver’s seat that we also used for storage,” explained Wright. ■
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TM Supplier Council Member
www.stnonline.com 25
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