I attached an excerpt from the Oceanside Unified School District School Bus Driver Handbook, which is available on the SBF web page, under "resources."

Zero Tolerance is a board policy and is seriously enforced on the campus and on the school bus. The policy implicitly covers bullying. The second section is permission for drivers to "do the right thing" when a child may be threatened by other students.

ZERO TOLERANCE

The following is the complete text of a letter written in July 1998 to parents from our Superintendent, Mr. Noonan:

The OUSD has a policy of non-violence called Zero Tolerance. In a word, it means any form of violence at school is not tolerated. This goes for every student from kindergarten to Grade 12. It is enforced on campus, on school buses and at school activities off campus. This policy is designed to make our schools safe and to keep our students safe from harm. Violence is not tolerated.

Violence means a fight or violent act, such as one student hitting another. However, it can also mean any attempt to harm someone, and most important, any threat by a student to harm another person. A threat is also known as intimidation. The law describes intimidation as violence. We treat a threat or intimidation as a fight. Threats and intimidation are not tolerated.

The Principal has the authority to determine the seriousness of the violation. Consequences will be swift. At a minimum, a Zero Tolerance violation by a student in grades 3-12 will result in five days suspension from school for a first offense, a conference with parents, and a clear warning that one more act of violence will result in a recommendation to expel the student(s). A second act of violence and a student will go to an expulsion hearing and will be required to remain off campus until the hearing has been held.

Although the policy is the same for Grades K-2, the following procedures are used at the discretion of the Principal: First offense: 1-day suspension; Second offense: 3-day suspension; Third offense: 5-day suspension; Fourth offense: Student is recommended for expulsion.

Parents, students and staff expect safe schools. Students who engage in violent activities will be expelled. The Board of Education and district staff are committed to making our schools safe.

Please talk this over with your child. Insist on acceptable behavior from your child. If your child is hurt or threatened, advise your child to report it to an adult on campus immediately. If you have questions, please contact your principal.

Refer to OUSD Board Policy and Administrative Procedure 5144.1 for details regarding Zero Tolerance.

As a school bus driver, it is your responsibility to follow the bus discipline procedures described above in OUSD Board Procedure 3541. When writing a description of an event, you are not to determine whether a particular student misbehavior is to be subject to the Zero Tolerance Policy, but rather, you are to use School Bus Incident Report to report the facts to the Principal. You are to levy consequences (Warning, Suspension) as you normally would. In a separate activity, the Principal will decide how the incident will be handled by the school.

Because school office staff may be very busy, a serious problem on the bus is best delivered personally to the school office along with a brief description of the problem to the Principal or School Secretary, if available.


IF A STUDENT IS THREATENED

Unfortunately, some students may pick fights with other students, especially when getting off the bus in the afternoon. Here are some things you can and should do:

 Prohibit taunting on the bus.

 If you suspect there may be a fight, call dispatch. If one of us can go out there, we will. If you think it may be a serious problem, let us know so we can call the school or OPD.

 Do not permit students that do not normally ride your bus to get on without authorization.

 If you see more than the usual number of students getting off the bus (to watch a fight), warn them that they will receive referrals. Get them back on the bus, if possible.

 Do not leave the scene until all students are clear and safe. The bus is a safe refuge for a threatened student.

 You can keep a threatened student on the bus and drop them off later. You can also deliver them to their door, if feasible. Check with dispatch first, though.

 If parents are home, you can call them and ask them to meet the bus.

 The school district can have disciplinary authority until the student arrives home. In other words, zero tolerance can be enforced after they leave the bus. Tell the students -- they probably will not know that.

 Treat students as you would want someone to treat your own children. It is important that you make a reasonable effort to protect all your students from harm. Doing nothing is the same as being an accessory to inflicting injury to the child.

I bring the bully to the front right seat. I call it my BB seat - "Best Buddy" - but in my mind it is the "Bad Behavior" seat. And we talk. "I do not tolerate name calling, bullying, hitting, fighting on my bus. I don't tolerate it in my home and I most certainly will not make an exception for my bus! If you have nothing good to say then say nothing at all." "I expect good behavior out of everyone, including you." Then I ask, "So what is your problem with so-n-so?" We talk some more and then we talk for about three days total. If the behavior continues then I'll report it to a principal with the students present or to a parent if one is available.

When I have observed situations happening on a consistent basis between two individuals, then I bring them both to the front seat to resolve the issues. I'd rather keep them together at times than to risk harm or injury to others.
TALK! TALK! TALK! and document the dates and times of incidents in my journal. If that doesn't work then a written report is made to the principal. If someone gets physical then those that I observe hitting get reported to the principal immediately.

As a driver I don't always know who started a fight or argument, so there are times that a principal would have the time to resolve the problem and speak to the issues at hand.

I know that this doesn't work in all districts but when the school system consistently works together as a team, there are very good results.

Many of our operators are from a generation when "sticks and stones will break our bones but names will never hurt us". What we were doing was giving passive permission to call people names. We now recognize that it was a form of bullying! Another statement quite often made is "What did you do?". This statement lays the blame on the victim and not the bully. As school bus operators we need to be ever viligent, sometimes difficult when driving through traffic, however there are signs of bullying to watch for. A student that is often last to get on the bus, looking fearful. A group of students taking control of the back of the bus could indicate trouble. Cell phones, especially with cameras are a way of broadcasting a victims idenity. I'm sure many of you out there have incidents that you could relay. Bullying must stop, our children need to feel safe. It is up to all those in the education system to work to-gether to acheive this goal.

These are two very good approaches to the bully problem. Picking on other children should NOT be tolerated in any fashion. Sometimes reason(Miss Becky) doesn't work,then the bigger stick of stern discipline(John Farr) unfortunately must be used.

Being trained or familar with bullying signs is most important. If your new in the school transportation industry it is even more difficult. Please rememeber pupil management comes with time. If you are unsure as a new employee or seasoned, stop in the management office and staff will assist you. Please never be reluctant about learning or finding out new information. Always ask for courses or training availible we would be grateful you asked. Always rememeber bullys existed a long time ago, but recently with the world changing our tactics dealing with this has to change along with it. Setting the tone with the students on the first few days is really important, they need to know what is expected and tolerated by the school system with guidelines on the consequences.If difficulties go beyond what you can handle or need assistance with, seek the professionals with the answers. Asking is not a weakness, but a destinct indication you are concerned and take pride in your job.
Bob Cushing Senior Driver East Greenbush Ny

Driving on the roads with 60 or more kids behind your back, zero tolerance is the only practical solution.

I tell my passengers that 'If it looks like a fight then it is a fight, and it will be treated like a fight'.

The BB seat strategy works well. High school students have an aversion to sitting in the 'naughty boy (or girl)' seat at the top of the stair well.

The underlying situation is a problem with disruptive students and that problem needs to be definitively addressed before they are given seat belt buckles to use as weapons.

A school bus is not an overgrown SUV. It is a vehicle unlike any other on the roads, and needs to be seen as such by under-informed legislators. What works with three kids in a car doesn't necessarily work with 60 kids in a socially stratified enclosed environment rolling down the road.

Just picture this: 35W bridge collapse, bus in,or under the water, with 60 scared kids belted in their seats.

In Transportation it's not possible to ask "if", it has to be "when".

I think you get to the basics. If the kids are not sitting properly (on their butts, facing forward)they get wrote up and/or moved to the front seat. Period. Ends all physical altercations.

On the other hand-The reason "bullying" is on the rise is because we are becoming too soft in this country. What they now consider "bulling" is even calling a name or good old horseplay. We were "bullied" as a kid. We survived. It only becomes a problem for kids because a bunch of liberal adults think it's devastating for a child. Then, every kid wants to blame their bad behavior (Collembine) on being bullied. With all the "bulling" that went on 20+ years ago it's surprising we didn't destroy the world! Good Grief!

We need to remember that each childs perception of bullying is different. I always tell the students in our district that if everyone is really laughing it can be called "just messing around", but if one person doesn't think it is funny, then it is bullying. We have a very open policy and never reveal our sources, in an effort to make students feel comfortable enough to report bullying. I am always pleased when students ask to see me to report the bullying of another student.

Students are always our best source of information, if you are a driver learn your students names, recognize normal behavior, and ask them if everything is okay if what you see is not normal behavior.

I also instruct our students and drivers that it is okay to call in a report or drop a note in front of the driver, leave a note on a bus seat, or ask a teacher they trust to email the trans. dept. about incidents of bullying. It seems to help if you allow them to be anonymous in making their report, mostly because their peers don't make the "narc" the next target!

As near as I can tell, with a few isolated exceptions, there is no bullying on my bus. Students get along fine with each other and I'm pleased that they enjoy their ride so much and have a good time with their fellow students. We have some who are wall flowers, that sit quietly in their seats, and do not partake of the large amount of chatter that's pretty much on-going during each trip. I watch the kids closely, however, and always look out for any type of physical horse play. I put a stop to that immediately. Most of the time it's just kids having a good time, but it can be perceived as more than that if the security tape is pulled from the bus or by other drivers looking into my vehicle in traffic, etc. I make sure the kids keep their hands to themselves. On the rare occasion that a real fight has broken out on my bus, needless to say I stop immediately and deal with it first hand. I'm fortunate to have a pretty good bunch of kids, which is not always the case depending on demographics in the area in which you are operating. But it's important to have your finger on the pulse and beware of what the kids are up to at all times.

Geoff Bridgman, Driver
Pocono Mountain School District West
Mt. Pocono, PA

Bullying is a definate problem on a school bus. It goes along with the "clicks" and the social levels. It usually stems from behavior taught at home. It is something that has to be addressed immediately at the time or will escalate.
I find it ironic that it has been going on for years but it took something major to happen before the schools put a policy in place and send the district as a whole to a meeting to recognize and learn how to handle it.
Now they need to address the workplace bullying issue that state by state is trying to institute before another headline happens.

How are you supposed to keep bullying off school property and buses?

nowshera.