end of last school year we did launch a pilot program to use buses at a school site to provide internet access to students. The results were not the ones we expected, and we decided to not continue with the program,” Ramirez explained. The Nearby Coalinga-Huron Unified School District has Wi-Fi hotspots installed in the entire fleet of 25 school buses, but Director of Transportation Katie Delano said parking buses would require continuous idling, which vio- lates California vehicle emissions laws. However, Anna Borges, the su- pervising transportation program consultant for the California De- partment of Education, shared with School Transportation News that Title 13 2480, “Amended Regulation: Airborne Toxic Control Measure to Limit School Bus Idling and Idling at Schools,” potentially provides an exemption for idling buses that are deliverying Wi-Fi hotspots. The docu-
ment states that “idling is necessary to operate defrosters, heaters, air condi- tioners, or other equipment to ensure the safety or health of the driver or passengers, or as otherwise required by federal or State motor carrier safety regulations.” Delano, however noted that run- ning the buses while the Wi-Fi is in use would also greatly increase the chances that students are breath- ing toxic air. Instead, once school campuses reopen for in-person education, Delano said the buses will continue to serve students traveling to and from sporting events and provide additional homework time on the long routes. She noted Coalinga-Huron USD is
a very rural district and routes can be up to an hour long. She said having the Wi-Fi on board improves student behavior and allows them to get their homework done in a timely fashion. Meanwhile, Brette Fraley, exec-
utive director of transportation for Kanawha County Schools in West Virginia, explained that school bus Wi-Fi can help an entire community during the ongoing health crisis. Kanawha installed Wi-Fi in its school buses almost six years ago, and it currently has about 175 out of 196 buses equipped with the tech- nology. However, students riding the 163 routes are most likely passengers on a bus with Wi-Fi capabilities. Fraley said that students in many
rural areas of the district don’t have access to internet, and because of the longer school bus rides, the administration wanted to provide an equal opportunity to all. He noted he hasn’t parked school buses in com- munities yet, but it is something his district is looking at doing. He said because the state reim- burses districts based on two years of spending, Kanawha only had to come up with the initial payment
42 School Transportation News • SEPTEMBER 2020
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