Bus Driver Procedures ~ 2 Related Questions

I'm with the yes you are being overprotective crowd. Maybe calling you overprotective is the wrong way to put it ... we all want to protect our kids, but I think your expectations of wanting the bus driver to overprotect your kids are a little skewed. Our bus drivers can not let the kids off unless they have an adult to go to. That is their only rule by me. When I have been late to get to the stop, they have let my girl off the bus because there were adults at the stop .. albeit they were my neighbors and no one specifically to get my daughter, but that is their policy and it is no one's fault but mine that I didn't get to the stop. My neighbors made sure she made it the three houses to ours and I would hope your neighbors would do the same for you.
Think about it..what would you want the bus driver to do...ask every person there for identification? Let's pretend they did, the unsavory person there to pick up your kids would give him one. What good would that do? Or asking the bus driver for their identification.. again, what good is that going to do? I would think any decent bus hijacker would have a fake bus id in hand that would have allowed them to get the bus. All this identification requesting would make the bus trip take hours longer than it does. Your expectations are just not realistic.
You are quoting a story from 1977 which was back in the day where Joe could walk into the bus company and say he was taking the route over for Bob because Bob had the flu and the bus company would let him do it. That doesn't happen anymore.
You have to know that there are some things that are not within your control. Teach your children to run from strangers who are trying to coax them to go somewhere. That's the best you can do. We all have fears, but the chances of them coming to fruition are minute. I have recurring nightmares about my car going off a bridge into a lake and figuring out how to get my 3 (soon 4) little kids unbuckled and out of the car and out of the lake when none of them can swim. This doesn't mean that I stay off of bridges because that is completely unrealistic.
With all that being said, if you are extremely uncomfortable with the situation, drive them to school. But I think you have a better chance of getting into a car accident with them along the way or of having your own car hijacked than you would these extreme bus situations. Yes, like you said, it could happen, but you have to look at the possibilities of it happening.
If you were going to live your life trying to protect them from everything bad that could happen, you would need to move to the middle of nowhere and stay in your house, never get in a car, never socialize, never let them out of your sight, homeschool them and I guess do this all without gas service because your house could blow up as well!
Hopefully this sounds silly to you.. don't let your fears take over!

I have never heard of a bus driver showing ID to parents. For one they don't really have time, and also if they are in the bus with the district information on the side its a safe bet they are who they say. The drivers have to sign out the busses when they start their route, and show ID at that time. The bus drivers like anyone working for a school district have to go through a rigorous background check in order to gain employment. It is your responsibility as a parent to teach your kids not to go with just anyone. If you're worried you should arrange to be the one to pick them up or arrange to take them to school and pick them up yourself and forgo the bus altogether. Some kids walk themselves home, and aren't picked up at the stop at all. The bus drivers job is to pick the kids up from a stop and take them to school and then back to the stop. That's it. Yes you are being overprotective and you need to relax a bit. going through your life looking around every corner for something dangerous is not only not safe, as it doesn't teach the kids anything, it will only make you miserable. have a little faith. kids are smarter than us grownups tend to give them credit for. Sometimes it's best to hold our breath and let them fly, trusting that we are teaching them the best we can for them to succeed.

I'll be honest, before I had kids, I would have thought you were being paranoid, but now... I actually fingerprinted prospective sitters and when one refused to let me print her (because she said she was old-fashioned and didn't like big brother butting in like that) I told her thanks ,but that I was going with someone else. :-) And your concerns are totally valid. I know when I was in first grade, I walked to the bus stop and home without any adult there to pick me up or drop me off. I know that when my son gets to that age, I'll either be dropping him off myself, or finding a before/after school sitter that is able to deliver him to and from school herself. I don't want my son riding a bus at all if I can avoid it. The kids get up to some really bad stuff at the back of the bus sometimes, aggression and violence goes unnoticed, and how much can that bus-driver really be paying attention with 40 screaming children behind him? No way - you do whatever you need to do to feel that your kids are safe. I wouldn't laugh if you slapped a homing device on the boys' lunch boxes. These days, you never know.

Hi-

My kids both ride the bus, and did so last year as well. In my district, kindergarteners attend one school, then go elsewhere for first grade. When my children were in K and preschool, the bus driver would not let the kids on or off the bus unless an adult was there. Now that my daughter's in first grade, it's different. They just let the kids get on and get off whether there's a parent there or not...it's a bit unsettling. They did have a practice bus run for the kindergarteners and preschoolers, but not the first graders. I guess it's fairly common, although I still make sure that I am there, and the district has a website with info on each driver as well as a picture and what routes they drive. I'm not aware of U-46 having this, though, and maybe it's different b/c my district only has 4 schools total.

I would hope that if you introduced yourself and asked to see some ID, the bus driver would understand. You can always call district transportation office and ask your questions. I would hope they would help you.

I started riding the bus to school when I was in 2nd grade through high school (moved to a new district, otherwise I walked). I had probably 3 or 4 different drivers during that time and never did they show their ID, introduce who they were, make sure the child had a parent to go with, nothing. They're in a hurry to keep on schedule and basically picked us up and dropped us off. That's it. No one ever questioned it. There's no way a driver could get to all the places they have to go unless they've been trained to do it specific to that route and school. Some person can't just get a bus and know where to go, get children and just take them. I would see that being near impossible.

I would say you're definitely more worried than you have to be. Yes, your children are young but honestly, taking the school bus very safe. They're more likely to get broken down on the side of the road (which does happen) rather than having someone hijake a bus, pick up a bunch of kids and take them off somewhere. I cannot recall ever hearing this happen in the news.

I totally agree. I can't imagine that he didn't even introduce himself! And yes, he should have had an ID badge on. My daughter does not ride the bus; she goes to private school so I drive her, so I'm not sure about your question regarding who his employer is, but I believe they work for the school district. You are not too overprotective. It's always better to be safe than sorry. That's my motto. I would have been very uneasy letting my daughter ride the bus under those circumstances. And yes, he should totally be making sure each child is with the right parent at pick up. It sounds like you've been in touch with the principal already, and that would be my suggestion. Follow up and make sure they are following proper procedures. And if their procedure is inadequate, demand that they change it. Good luck!

I agree with you, you can never be too safe. If there isn't a plan in place, perhaps you can work with the principle of the school to put one in place. Demand that the drivers have ID and show it to you. Demand everything you are saying...they are your kids and your responsibility. They need you to be their advocate. Don't wait for someone else to do it! Just do it for your kids and the rest of the kids that get on those buses!

You have prompted me to look deeper into this before my son and daughter go off to school.

So you know. All school district employees or persons who will contract with the school go through background checks and fingerprinting. Annually, those background checks are run. If a bus driver stopped at each stop long enough to pick up kids, make sure they were sitting then show their badge or make sure each kid went to a parent, your route would never run on time. That said, if you feel this person is an unsavory character, have the school check into it. Although bad things can happen, I would say the precautions taken by districts are high.