FIRST TAKE Shortly after the keynote and related bullying panel at the NAPT Summit last fall, a respected


industry insider voiced his frustration to me about so much national publicity centering on James Jones, the father who was charged with disorderly conduct and disrupting a school function in September as he confronted students he suspected of bullying his daughter, Chatari. Jones was plain wrong for storming on the bus and hurling an expletive-filled tirade at the stu-


Industry, Bullied Students Have a Friend in Kevin Jennings


By Ryan Gray


dents, the bus driver and anyone within earshot. Jones has admitted as much several times since. But overnight he became a type of hero to many thanks to the power of YouTube. Te entire incident was caught on the school bus security camera and soon was making the rounds on the Internet and TV news stations everywhere. He even was named one of the “People of the Year” for 2010 by NBC News. While that may have been a stretch, one thing’s for certain: the incident did bring to further light


the issue of student bullying, and especially that on the school bus. Bullying, of course, may be the world’s longest activity, at least amongst youngsters on the play-


ground. But as long as school buses have been rolling, I’d venture the guess that bullying ranks right up there with school bus yellow in terms of longevity. Even the seats have changed considerably, but children remain essentially the same. In this space I’ve talked about my own non-physical experiences of being bullied in school,


and others industry-wide and elsewhere have shared similar stories. Attendees at next month’s Transporting Students with Disabilities and Preschoolers Conference in Kansas City will hear at least one more story, and it’s from a gentleman who holds the power to truly bring about some positive change. I’m talking about Kevin Jennings, the assistant deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Edu-


cation’s Safe and Drug-Free Schools. His should be a familiar name as he hosted an NAPT webinar last May on school bus bullying and presented the aforementioned keynote at the 2010 NAPT Summit. He also sat on the panel alongside Jones and others. Next month, he will also keynote the disabilities conference. It’s no secret that students with disabilities can be the brunt of jokes and harassment. Jennings commiserates. While he is not disabled, he is openly gay and suffered for his sexual


orientation at the hands of bullies on the school bus and elsewhere while growing up. So he knows first hand how cruel children can be. And he understands that school bus drivers lack the tools to respond to bullying. He’s no doubt heard some interesting stories from his brother-in-law, who is a school bus driver. Next month, Jennings will be talking in part about free training for districts that will be developed


specifically for school bus drivers to identify, report and respond to on-board bullying. And that additional training could at the very least save some kids from the hurtful taunts that so many of us remember as youngsters. At the most, school districts could save themselves millions on lawsuits. According to a Johns Hopkins University and National Education Association survey that Jen-


nings explained at NAPT, about 18 percent more kids who ride the bus report school bullying than their peers who walk, ride a bike, take transit, or hitch a ride with mom, dad, a neighbor or a friend. Tis makes sense as the latter don’t experience as many opportunities to get bullied as those who are seated on the bus, sometimes for an hour or more, and have no where to run. Tis is especially true of many students with disabilities, some of whom exhibit behavior issues that can lead to claims they are they are in actuality bullying others. Also according to the study, school bus drivers are more apt to report bullying than other school


personnel. But, Jennings says, school bus drivers are neither armed with the necessary training nor receive support from school administrations to make a difference. Factor in that school bus drivers are also busy steering 20,000-pound steel cages on the roads and are seated with their backs to a bus-load of kids and you have the perfect recipe for bullying-type behavior. As attendees at this year’s TSD await more detail, it’s apropos that the event is being held in the


“Show Me” state of Missouri. “Show Me!”, after all, is the theme of this year’s conference. But the phrase also denotes the eagerness of pupil transporters, especially the special needs variety, to re- ceive more valuable information on how to better perform their jobs. Te tools that bus drivers have long needed to be considered on par with educators and other


school employees to make school bus rides truly as safe as possible for students might soon be on the horizon. ■


12 School Transportation News Magazine February 2011


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