Exposing Bullying on the Bus
SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE ‘LIGHT YEARS AHEAD’ WHEN ADDRESSING BULLYING AND ABUSE, BUT TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENTS STILL NEED MORE SUPPORT. VIDEO COULD BE PART OF THE ANSWER.
WRITTEN BY ERIC WOOLSON T 48 School Transportation News February 2014
echnology is providing school transportation professionals with valuable tools to combat bullying
and abuse, but effective policies, adequate funding and support from key decision makers are “where the rubber meets the road,” according to Mike Martin, executive director of the National Association for
Pupil Transportation. “Camera manufacturers are doing a fantastic
job. Tey’ve done a tremendous service to the industry in verifying things going on in the bus,” Martin notes. “Like anything else we have going on, a lot of technology requires policy. Schools should have well-considered policies about all aspects of the issue. It’s absolutely essential that you understand how to use it before you use it.”
Martin is passionate about eliminating bully-
ing because of his own traumatic experiences as a child. “I don’t think any of us, whether we’re
involved in transportation or not, have been as sensitive to the effects of bullying as we should’ve been. It’s been a societal issue for a very long time,” he explains. “I was bullied and beat up on the school bus as a kid. It’s one of the reasons I do my job. Not to say things are perfect today, but we are light years ahead of the 1960s and 1970s. Transportation profes- sionals are doing more to address and, ultimate- ly, eradicate bullying.” NAPT’s policy agenda takes a no-holds-
barred stance on the issue, stating, “Bullying has no place on the bus and school districts should have clear and well-considered policies for handling such events and behaviors not only in the classroom but also on the school bus and at school bus stops.” Martin believes a seminal moment for the
school transportation industry came in early 2009 when Kevin Jennings, now the executive
PHOTO BY VINCENT RIOS
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