W
hile our school buses are built to withstand most collisions with passenger vehicles, there is still the chance that your district may have to contend with a major crash involving serious injuries or even fatalities. Communication during and after a school bus crash or other incident,
especially one that may be immediately newsworthy, is critical in this era of social media and a litigious public that knows school districts and especially contractors, bus manufac- turers and suppliers have deep pockets full of insurance money. Misinformation spread via social media can often start a cycle of confusion and finger-pointing. Especially in the case of a serious incident, parents, other students, and the community, are entitled to accurate information. “Historically, the unwritten communications policy for many school districts was 3-D:
Deny, deflect and defend,” said Kenneth Trump, president of National School Safety and Se- curity Services in Cleveland. “Educators today must realize that if they don’t get their version of the story out accurately, and preferably first, rumors and misinformation that used to spread in hours and days, now spread in seconds and minutes.” Trump stressed that school districts should position themselves as go-to sources for
information. “Te local news reporters often monitor social media as a source of ideas for their stories, so the district could use social media to accurately explain the facts,” he added. Trump recalled working with a school district where, thanks to students using cell phones, the local news reporters were on the scene of a bus crash before the central office administrators even knew about it. Tat district now has its communications officer noti- fied, in addition to other traditional stakeholders. In the case of a high-interest incident, the communications officer is now required to respond to the scene.
KEEPING THE LINES OPEN “Communication problems are almost always going to be the downfall of any school
emergency operations plan,” advised Diana Hollander, president of NASDPTS and program officer for pupil transportation and emergency management at the Nevada Department of Education. She was one of three panelists at the recent STN EXPO in Reno, Nevada, who discussed the importance of proper communication protocols for emergency situations.
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