Many parents are wondering whether or not it will be safe for their children to get on the school bus in the fall.
"People are just nervous and are looking for some reassurance that this is going to be done safely," said Danielle Grzymala, a Buffalo Public Schools parent.
If school districts decide to have in-person instruction in the fall, parents want to know how their kids will be safe on the school bus.
Grzymala said, "People are unsure and are afraid. Nobody wants to catch this and bring it home to their family."
In the Buffalo Public Schools’ draft reopening plan, the district outlines policies and practices for keeping kids safe as they travel to and from school on the bus. The district wants students to wear masks. But if they're medically unable to tolerate one, they don't have to wear one. Students who don't have a mask will not be denied transportation and will be provided one by the district.
School bus drivers, monitors, attendants, and mechanics must wear masks too. But before they head to work, they are required to perform a self-health assessment for symptoms of COVID-19. The same goes for students. Parents and guardians should check their children for symptoms and do a temperature check before they get on the bus.
Sean McCabe, the First Student area general manager, said, "Make sure that if your child doesn't feel well, you don't send them to school."
Students should socially distance at the bus stop and when they get on the bus. There's no word yet on how many students will be on buses or how many will sit in each row. First Student says that all depends on the model BPS chooses.
"With the different models of back to school and the different hybrid models potentially that are going to remove some of the density on the school bus, they may have fewer kids on the bus," McCabe said.
If someone on the school bus tests positive for the virus, then action will be taken.
McCabe said, "We would immediately sequester the bus, we would disinfect the bus. We would do contact tracing with partnership with the districts to identify anybody who had been on the bus. We would ask if the child was self-isolated until he was medically approved to return to school and basically it's the same for the drivers."
The district says buses will be cleaned and disinfected once a day. Transportation staff and students will be trained on how to properly use PPE, social distancing protocols, and knowing the symptoms of the virus.
"We're also going to reinforce obviously some COVID training, some PPE training, how to properly wear PPE, how we're going to social distance in our facilities, how we're going to operate in our yards. They're going to get a refresher on loading and unloading the bus but now obviously in the COVID-19 world, how to do that so that the kids are socially distanced and we're best protecting the kids," McCabe said.
One of the things parents are worried about is school bus drivers juggling the roads and making sure students are following the protocols. Some would like to see aides on the buses.
"It's different, you're now worrying about disciplining kids and driving them safely. You're now worried about where's Tommy sitting, is he sharing, is his mask on?" Grzymala said.
Grzymala also wants to see bus drivers tested each month.
Spectrum News reached out to the district to see if aides will be on buses and if testing will be made available. They forwarded us over to their draft reopening plans which don't mention aides or testing those on buses.
First Student says a lot of work is being done behind the scenes to prepare for the school year and they'll be able to get further into detail about their plans and protocols once districts like BPS officially decide on their fall model.
McCabe said, "I think we're going to nail down all that protocol as we move forward with the districts and they finalize their plans. We want parents to feel assured that their kids are going to be safe."
The district says parents are encouraged to make their concerns known via their online survey.