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atrina Morris knows full well the given but underlooked reality of the job requirements for being a school bus driver. These employ- ees often enter areas to pick up and drop off
students where “most people would not go in the daylight with their windows up and doors locked. “Yet school bus drivers do it daily, a lot of times in
the dark hours of the morning, and we open our doors to welcome children along the way,” continued the transportation director for the West Shore Educational Service District in Ludington, Michigan and exec- utive director of the Michigan Association for Pupil Transportation. “We trust them to make split-second decisions every day while driving a 40-foot school bus with up to 72 of someone else’s children. Why wouldn’t we give them the training necessary to help them protect the children and themselves?” That question underscores the emergence of school bus driver incident training taking hold throughout the country. The training acknowledg- es the fact that a school bus driver is in a confined space, sometimes the lone adult, in a moving vehi- cle—a different scenario than what can be presented in a classroom. Several years ago, Morris along with other county school administrators joined staff with the Mason County Emergency Management and members of the Michigan State Police, Ludington Police Depart- ment and Mason County Sheriff’s Department in attending active shooter training. Morris shared there was no specific training at the time tailored for school bus drivers and their environ- ment. That was a driving factor in her establishing the Proactive Response Training for School Bus Driv- ers in collaboration with law enforcement partners. “While working together, law enforcement started
to question the safety of the school bus from people unlawfully entering it,” said Morris, who presents a program overview at STN EXPO Reno on July 20. The Michigan Department of Education signed
off on the new training, requiring it as part of a six-hour curriculum taken by all school bus drivers and their supervisors statewide. All current drivers most complete the course by the end of September. Morris added she is working on getting the training required for all beginning drivers as well. “This is something that the drivers have asked for.
They feel heard and that creates a better team,” she added.
The program has been well received statewide. “I believe this training is needed for a variety of
reasons, over and above the relatively low-risk active shooter event,” commented Penny S. Evert, transpor- tation director for Whitehall District Schools, located northwest of Grand Rapids near Lake Michigan. Evert relayed that the training teaches bus drivers and aides to begin thinking proactively about all kinds of threats, including angry parents, moody students, and strangers at the bus stop. “One’s success in self-protection and saving the
lives of others is predicated on having a plan ahead of time as to how to handle differing situations,” said Evert. “This proactive response training not only helps the transportation team in this mental prepa- ration, but also includes local emergency services personnel in the practice as well.” In addition to providing the training throughout
Michigan, the program has been taught in Ohio and has been distributed upon request to school districts in 30 states and in Canada. Recently, Morris also worked with state Rep. Jack
O’Malley on school bus safety and security legisla- tion imposing penalties for entering a bus without authorization. “Rep. O’Malley had a deeper understanding of
what it takes to be a school bus driver,” noted Morris about the collaboration. “He even got an opportunity to drive a school bus…on a closed course, of course.” Four bills in all were signed into law by Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer and went into effect last October. To thwart would-be bus tresspassors, a sticker may be affixed to the side of all school buses, to the left of the service door and between the first and sec- ond rub rails from the bottom of the window. The warning reads: An unauthorized person attempting to board or boarding this school bus is subject to citation for a civil infraction and may be ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than $500. “This has helped to stop a lot of people thinking
about entering our school buses,” Morris point- ed out. “We have heard several stories that when someone entered their bus with poor intentions, the video was turned over to law enforcement and they received a civil citation for the full $500.” Morris noted that while the stickers are not re-
quired, when they are not affixed to the side of buses police are unable to issue a citation to anyone who boards the bus without permission.
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