Pubdate: Mon, 10 Mar 2008 Source: Day, The (New London,CT) Copyright: 2008 The Day Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.theday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/293 Author: Julie Wernau Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) BUS DRIVERS FEEL HANDS TIED BY GROTON'S POLICY Groton - School bus drivers say they are concerned about a school district practice that asks them to contact the school first instead of the police when an incident occurs on a school bus. The drivers say the policy could be putting drivers in danger and sending students the wrong message. Two bus drivers were recently given new routes after parents complained that the drivers chose to involve police with incidents on the bus. Now several bus drivers who asked not to be identified say they felt the move sent a message: that students who misbehave can get away with it. The district defended reassigning the drivers. In the first instance, in January, a bus driver called her transportation dispatcher after she thought four Fitch Senior High School students on her route were smoking marijuana on the school bus. The dispatcher first tried contacting the school, drivers said. When no one answered, the dispatcher told the driver to pull into the police station. "We thought they could have handled it differently," said Michael Emery, assistant principal at Fitch. In that instance, police said, they were unable to prove that students were smoking marijuana. Police determined some students were smoking cigarettes. In the second incident, a loud Fitch Senior High School student allegedly threatened a bus driver, and the driver had police come onto the bus to take the student off. "You have to use some discretion. You don't call the police for every single incident that happens on the school bus," Emery said. Hugh Hunter, business manager for the school district, said Groton prefers that drivers deal first with the school, if possible. If something can be handled in-house, as a disciplinary problem, school officials would prefer to handle it themselves, he said. "Obviously, if the driver thinks that the safety of the bus is in peril, they should pull over to the side of the road and wait for police," he said. Hunter said the bus drivers were transferred from their routes because of "supercharged" situations. He said it was best for all parties involved. One bus driver, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, "What you just told those kids is that what they did was fine." The drivers, who are employed by Student Transportation of America, said discipline on a school bus isn't like discipline at a school. "We have to get them from A to B safely," the driver said. "With disruptions, our eyes are off the road." All Groton school buses are equipped with video surveillance. School policies dictate that "the driver is in full charge on the bus, and instructions given are to be obeyed." "I think we are only allowed to call the cops if the students are fighting or if the bus has been involved in an accident. Most of the drivers were very upset over this whole thing because it really undermines our credibility," said another driver. Student Transportation of America referred comment to a district supervisor who did not return a call. In a second call, STA refused comment. Barbara Brigham, a manager for Laidlaw Transportation, which dispatches buses for Waterford, East Lyme and New London, said her buses also communicate through a dispatcher because the drivers are not allowed to have cell phones, not even with hands-free devices. "If it's a safety issue or it's an illegal thing, I don't care. I'm going to get the police involved, no matter what the school says," Brigham said. "It's not that we want to call the police. We don't want these situations." Brigham said the Laidlaw drivers also have cameras on their buses. She said the cameras have sometimes saved drivers' jobs, when students made bogus accusations against drivers they didn't like. She said a look at the tapes with administrators has revealed false accusations about everything from a driver who supposedly was driving with a baby in her lap to another driver who students claimed was smoking. "The town needs to adopt a policy concerning bus behavior and what to do in an emergency," said another Groton bus driver. "The drivers are being told one thing, and when they do as they're told, they risk being fired or reprimanded or taken off their run. Where is the protection for that driver or the other students on that bus?" William D. Moore, executive director of the Connecticut School Transportation Association, an independent, not-for-profit organization of pupil transportation carriers in Connecticut, said typically policies about emergencies on buses are developed in coordination with the local board of education and the carrier. "It's really on a board-by-board, policy-by-policy basis," Moore said. But generally, he said, drivers will notify dispatch first, and dispatch will make the determination about what to do. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek