As teachers and school staff prepare for back-to-school, transportation departments will also see new rules and regulations to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The list of regulations for transportation departments may be shorter than those teachers and other school staff may see, but they are no less important to keep staff and students safe when schools reopen in September.
Michael Kilcommens, associate superintendent for Christ the Redeemer Catholic School Division said, “We are not hearing any big concerns. The biggest concern, which is normal for this time of year, is are there enough drivers.”
Christ the Redeemer contracts Southland Transportation for their students, and Kilcommons says the school division has been working closely with the company to ensure safety for drivers and students.
Students with Golden Hills School Division will be transported with buses owned and operated by the school division, and superintendent Bevan Daverne says they will be closely following the recommendations put forth.
“We appreciate the guidelines (put forward by the government) and the rationale behind them,” Daverne told the Mail.
With limited space on buses some additional changes have been made to encourage social distancing where possible.
Students will load from back to front and disembark front to back to avoid passing already seated passengers. They will also be assigned seats with siblings or other household members where possible, with more enforcement on seating arrangements this year.
Drivers will be tasked with cleaning their bus at the end of each route, and shields will be installed to separate drivers from students.
The mandatory mask mandate which, as of August 18, requires all students between grades 4 and 12 to wear masks in common areas will extend to school buses. Drivers and students between these grades will be required to wear a mask for the duration of the bus route.
