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TRANSPORTATION

BY DON HARRIS
Stephanie Arbaugh Kaylee Sorensen
Transportation Faces New Challenges When Schools Reopen

Keeping kids and bus drivers safe during the cororavirus pandemic transportation operations,” Arbaugh said.
requires an abundance of care, common sense and some creativity.
It’s important to do it right and safely. “There is not a one size fits all
Stephanie Arbaugh and Kaylee Sorensen of The Arizona Risk for any of the problems we are facing,” she said.
Retention Trust spelled out ways that transportation officials
can accomplish those goals when schools eventually reopen for She turned her attention to two specific issues. “Let’s talk about
classes. In a July 16 AASBO webinar, Arbaugh noted that each year ‘standard of care’ and ‘duty of care’ with respect to school bus
transportation goals are generally the same, but this year schools are transportation and the current pandemic situation, and how the legal
facing starkly different goals and processes. system defines it,” Arbaugh said, noting that guidelines from federal
agencies are growing steadily. “You need to know duty of care – the
She told her AASBO audience that most of them had probably moved legal responsibility of your organization to avoid any behaviors to
from “the idea stage to implementation stage,” including such issues cause harm to others.”
as when to temperature check, social distancing, and how routes may
be affected if a student or driver becomes infected. Bus drivers have multiple responsibilities – keeping the kids safe,
safely dealing with traffic, and making sure their bus is clean. “The
"It's not business as usual. Making challenge for today’s Transportation Department is to meet both
standard of care and duty of care,” Arbaugh said.
no changes can't be the answer.”
Requiring masks, social distancing and cleanliness may not be as
attainable as we would like, but that should be our goal. “Guidelines
“In addition to getting kids to and from school safely, we all have are simply that, guidelines, but if guidelines are all we have they
to meet a set of standards, a new normal with new federal and state essentially become mandates,” Arbaugh said.
guidelines,” she said.
For example, it may be difficult to require pre-schoolers to wear a
Goals should focus on keeping staff and passengers healthy and not face covering and maintain social distancing in a bus. The Centers
at risk of illness.
for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that drivers should
practice all safety actions and protocols indicated for district staff
Arbaugh posed several questions to consider, including: What is your and schools should create distance between children on school buses
department’s guidance? Is it documented, and how are you enforcing when possible.
it? As a bus driver, do I know the guidance? Is it documented for me
to see? What happens if I don’t follow the guidance? If I’m told to Arbaugh said maintaining six feet of social distancing means having
wear a face covering and I walk into the Transportation Department only 11 students on a 78-passenger bus. “That’s not feasible,” she
and I’m not wearing one, what happens?
said. Having two students per seat is OK if they are siblings.
Before on-site classes resume is a perfect time for online back-to- “Create feasible seating and cleaning,” she said. “The only way you
school meetings regarding protocol guidelines.
can go wrong is to do nothing. It’s not business as usual.”
“Cleaning and disinfecting seems to be the biggest roadblock for
Surveys of parents indicate that a certain percentage will choose
online classes for their children, which would reduce ridership and
ease the social distancing requirement. But any modifications to a
bus will need to be approved by the Department of Public Safety.
“It’s the law,” Arbaugh said.
She recommended educating kids on distancing and hand washing
and to have a hand sanitizer available and to consider dealing with
kids who have allergies. Scenarios to consider include: What to do
if a bus tests positive or someone is exposed. How many schools
does that bus serve? Do you isolate students? If a staff person tests
positive, a bus may not get needed repairs. If a driver tests positive,
it may be difficult to find a substitute driver.
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10 THE EDGE BACK TO SCHOOL 2020