The Bus Driver
15 Years Experience
South, ..
Female, 37
I have been a bus driver since late 2006. I know the inside story, the scoop, the down low dirt of what it takes to be a bus driver, how to handle kids and adults, and how to survive on the "streets" so to speak. I used to have a blog, feel free to browse it or ask me a question here.
Each job has its selection of characters. Most of the time, a majority of the behavior problems I experience comes from the kids, but we do have adults who can be quite "special" in their behavior as well. I believe that the reason why adults tend to be better behaved is because they actually WANT to ride the bus, or HAVE to ride the bus to get to work, the grocery store, the movies, wherever.
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Good question. The fact of the matter is, "short buses" as you put them have special factory options installed. Often seatbelts, wheelchair tie downs, and wheelchair lifts. We have to make sure that all students, regardless of disability, have an equal opportunity to attend school. I don't know the reason why these buses are often shorter than regular education buses, however, I have a theory. Alot of times, these buses have to be small enough to be able to enter a persons driveway in order to pick up a student in need. A larger regular education bus is not designed for tight turns and pick up door to door. Students have to meet us at the street/central location to board the buses in those cases. Often special education buses have a driver and an aide on the bus to handle any problem that may come up, such as a student having a seizure or an autistic child having issues with noise. These buses are also often quieter than regular education buses which help a student who is autistic as they usually cannot handle loud noise like everyone else. Hope this helps.
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Some school bus drivers may be retired teachers. Generally speaking, no, teachers are not school bus drivers, but paraprofessionals may choose to work as bus drivers to supplement their income too. As for handling badly behaved students, our course of action can include many steps. First we will typically try to manage the behavior on the bus by changing the students seat or assigning seats. Then we try to contact the parents of the student in order to try to get the situation resolved. If that fails then we write the students up and turn them into the schools. From there, the administrators of the school can choose to further discipline the student by taking away bus riding privilege. We are not allowed to physically discipline students as far as laying a hand on a student though.
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For bathroom emergencies, it can be a tricky situation. In my district, it is left up to the bus driver's discretion. Usually if a route is short - the kids will be home within 1 hour - I usually tell the children to wait until they get home. Though there have been times where a route is longer, or the child is little (pre-k) in which case I'll stop at the bus shop, or at a school and get a teacher or older student (of same gender of child) to escort the child to the bathroom.
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Being shorthanded is a tough subject as many bus shops everywhere are short drivers. Typically though whether or not SPED buses have monitors on them is based by state. I would research the laws in Virginia and see if not having a monitor is illegal on your bus. If it is, then I would make efforts to report the activity to the appropriate authorities. If SPED buses are not required to have monitors on them, then my suggestion is to do the best you can with the resources you have.
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It varies from state to state, but in my district, the cameras are designed to keep running approximately 10 minutes after the bus has been turned off. This is for safety reasons for the driver and for the kids. It also provides enough time for the bus driver to walk the bus/sweep the bus at the end of the route. This also is proof that the driver is doing their job by walking the bus and prevents the driver from getting in a compromising situation should a student be found on the bus after the route and the bus has been shut off.
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Technically speaking, it is dangerous to brake check any vehicle because it will cause wear and tear on the vehicle. In addition, brake checking while one has children on board can put them in danger and cause unintended injuries. Sometimes I will demonstrate to children how fast a bus CAN stop because it helps them remember to stay in their seats, but over all I don't usually perform "brake checks".
On a legal standpoint, it is NOT illegal to do so, just unsafe.
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