Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario

Safety

Introduction

In the area of safety, the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario has committed to working with all coterminous boards throughout our jurisdiction. The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario cooperates with coterminous boards to have students transported to school safely, on time, and ready to learn.

Standards of Performance, Safety

The establishment of the Standards of Performance for school bus operators ensures that safety, comfort, and efficiency are maintained at an optimal level. By establishing these standards and clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, it is anticipated that improved service will result from a better understanding of system needs.

The Standards of Performance recognizes operators for their contribution and participation in various safety initiatives, example, Inclement Weather captains, train the trainer, participation in workshops, etc.

Driver Certification

The legal requirements for becoming a licensed school bus driver are very demanding: between 20 and 40 hours of specialized training is followed by written exams and a road test in a bus;
Driving records are reviewed and regular medical examinations are required;
Every driver must complete certified driver improvement courses, as well as know traffic laws and safety procedures thoroughly. Periodic re-evaluations by their employer keep the school drivers aware of Board requirements.

Documents required on file by the operator:

Tuberculosis test
Driver abstract
CPR/First Aid certification
Annual Evaluation
Up-to-date driver’s license
Copy of medical
Confidentiality Agreement
Workshops attended
Criminal reference check

Driver Training

Rules and Regulations for Regular and Specialized Transportation
The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario and the local School Bus Operators Association developed the Standards of Performance for school bus operators in 2002. Most recently, a section dealing with specialized transportation was added. These documents clearly identify the expectations of all parties included in the delivery of students to and from school. The document ensures that safety, comfort and efficiency are maintained at optimum levels. In June of every year, the bus operators receive a rating from the Board identifying the satisfaction in the level of service provided throughout the school year.

First Aid and CPR
Every school bus driver is expected to have completed an 8-hour First Aid and CPR course. Recertification is required within a 3-year period. The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario coordinates group sessions hosted by St-John Ambulance and The Red Cross for bus operators. Bus operators have the choice of sending their drivers to the group sessions or offering the program in house.

Building Positive Student Behaviour
In the winter of 2004, the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario and coterminous boards hired Century Consulting to design a program for school bus drivers to assist in building positive student behaviour on their buses. The goal was to train trainers that would offer the workshop throughout the jurisdiction on a regular basis. The bus operators were very interested and participated fully by having some of their staff professionally trained by Century Consulting. Currently 14 trainers can offer the course throughout the jurisdiction. As of March 2007, 80% of the drivers had taken the Building Positive Student Behaviour workshop. Every driver is expected to attend the workshop every two years.

Crisis Problem Intervention
The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario and the coterminous boards’ Special Education Department developed a workshop targeting crisis problem intervention. The Crisis Problem Intervention workshop is offered to school bus drivers to prevent problem behaviours from occurring on the bus. The workshop identifies detailed strategies on how to handle difficult situations and is offered throughout our jurisdiction.

Autism Workshop
The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario, the coterminous school boards and the Autism Society developed a workshop to assist school bus drivers in dealing with students who have autism. The autism workshop is currently offered to school bus drivers transporting students with autism. Assisting bus drivers to understand autism is the key to successfully transporting these students. The workshop is offered throughout our jurisdiction.

Transporting Children in Wheelchairs
The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario and coterminous school boards developed this workshop to ensure quality of service in transporting physically disabled students or students in wheelchairs. Proper procedures are explained and practiced during this workshop. The school bus drivers gain the experience of being confined to a wheelchair. The workshop is offered throughout our jurisdiction, and continues to be offered on an annual basis.

Child Protection Protocol
The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario and coterminous boards offer mandatory workshops to all bus drivers in respect to the child protection protocol. The protocol is essentially an agreement among professional organizations that interface with youth and children in the community. The goal of the protocol is to develop and maintain an understandable and consistent process to respond to children in need of protection. Bus drivers are aware of the steps involved in the witnessing or disclosure of child abuse/neglect. The primary objective of this workshop is to ensure the safety and protection of children transported to and from school.

Anti-Bullying
The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario and the coterminous boards offer an anti bullying workshop to assist drivers in identifying bullying issues. Students have identified that the school bus is an area where they feel bullied. Drivers are taught to recognize the signs of bullying and are presented with strategies on how to deal with bullying in the school bus.

Student Safety Programs

First Time Riders
The First Time Riders information session is an education and awareness program. It is designed to promote school bus safety to young children and their parents. It familiarizes young children who are beginning school with school buses and helps them overcome any fears they may have about riding on the “big yellow bus”. The program is offered at each school in June, August, or September for junior and senior kindergarten students. Each school must submit an evaluation form to the Transportation Department identifying that the program was offered and the quality of the program.

Purple Band Program
The Purple Band Program is a quick and safe way to help protect our most vulnerable young students – our junior and senior kindergarten passengers. The Purple Band lets bus drivers easily identify junior and senior kindergarten students with just a quick glance. Simply put, the Purple Band is placed around the handgrip on the top of a junior or senior kindergarten student’s backpack. This band, in conjunction with an educational program for school staff, parents and school bus drivers, helps to ensure our junior and senior kindergarten students will be met at the bus stop. Parents/ Guardians can assist in our efforts to maintain high standards of safety on school buses by adhering to the following: Junior and Senior kindergarten students must be accompanied to and from the bus stop by a responsible adult. If no one meets the student at the bus stop, drivers are directed to take the student back to school or to the proper authorities.

Buster The Bus
In September 2005, Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario purchased “Buster the Talking School Bus” robot. Buster travels throughout our jurisdiction educating students from junior kindergarten to grade 3 on safe school bus riding. Bus operators offer the program on our behalf. Buster has proven to be popular with the younger crowd.

Emergency Evacuation
In October of every year, each school must participate in school bus emergency evacuation. Elementary school students watch a video on school bus evacuation and then practice the exercise on a school bus with the assistance of bus drivers. Secondary school students are required to practice the emergency evacuation exercise on a school bus with the assistance of the bus driver. Each school must submit an evaluation form identifying that the exercise occurred and the quality of the delivery.

Transportation of Pupils Guidelines for Students and Parents Booklet
This booklet is produced to inform parents, students, teachers, principals, operators and drivers of safe riding practices. The booklet is distributed to all students and their parents each school year.

My Yellow School Bus
This pamphlet is mailed to all new junior kindergarten students within the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario before the beginning of the school year. To ensure awareness among students and parents, the pamphlet lists school bus safety rules and clearly identifies the school bus danger zone.

Safety Program for Walkers
The Walking School Bus is a group of children walking to school accompanied by one or more adults, or senior student leaders. The school coordinates community stops where students congregate to walk as a group to school, with pedestrian safety as a primary objective.

Medical Forms
Each year, all schools are required to provide the Transportation Department with updated medical information on students with life-threatening allergies or medical circumstances. This information is maintained by the Transportation Department and is forwarded to the bus operator. All medical information is confidentially maintained on each bus. The operator is responsible to ensure the dispatcher and the drivers are aware of all students’ medical conditions.

Epipens
With increasing numbers of students with severe allergies, individuals are concerned about the possibility of administering emergency procedures such as epinephrine auto-injectors. All drivers have a duty of care to take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of transported children. Courses involving first-aid and EpiPen procedures are offered, and all drivers are encouraged to participate.

School Emergency Preparedness & Evacuation
Provision of transportation for the extraordinary situations and measures may have to be taken if an emergency occurs where the safety of the staff and students is threatened at school. Extended emergencies might include fire, persons with weapons, bomb threats, hostage takings, local industrial hazards, severe weather conditions, breakdown of physical facilities, and/or train derailments, etc. The Transportation Department shall follow steps outlined in the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario’s Emergency Preparedness & Evacuation Procedure Manual.

Inclement Weather
The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario works cooperatively with bus contractors to ensure that our approach to transportation during inclement weather is coordinated and designed with the safety of students in mind. We have designed systems with Pelmorex Media Inc./World Weather Watch and bus contractors in order to receive the most up-to-date information regarding local weather and road conditions. Decisions concerning the cancellation of school bus and special vehicle transportation are made cooperatively based upon this information. Unless otherwise announced, schools will remain open for students and staff even if transportation is cancelled. If transportation is cancelled in the morning, afternoon transportation will not operate.

Announcements regarding the cancellations of school transportation are broadcast on local radio and television stations, as well as via the school board website starting at 6:15 a.m. Operators and drivers are also able to access cancellation information by phoning a private message centre. School principals are advised via an automated voice messaging system.

School Loading Zone
School bus loading and unloading locations will be determined by the Transportation Department in consultation with the school’s principal and the Plant and Maintenance Department. These locations will be determined in terms of safety, convenience, and number of pupils served.

Bus Monitor
Occasionally bus monitors may be required to assist the driver in dealing with student behavioural issues. These monitors are used on a short term basis, as deemed necessary by the Transportation Department. Bus monitors follow the same protocol as the school bus drivers.

Crossing Guards
The Transportation Department, in consultation with municipalities and local police agencies, will establish and review the location of crossing guards within urban centers. The safety of students who walk to school is the primary concern in establishing the placement of crossing guards.

After Hours Communication
All bus operators’ communication centers are required to be manned until such time as all students on regular school bus routes are delivered to their destinations. Should a situation arise requiring communication with the Board outside of normal business hours, the operator/dispatcher is to refer to the inclement weather procedure for up-to-date telephone charts.