Masks To Be Required On School Buses

All public school students taking the bus this fall will need to be masked up while onboard. Bus drivers, however, will not be required to be vaccinated.

New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) Director of Transportation Carl Jackson delivered that fall transportation forecast Monday evening to the Board of Education during its regular biweekly meeting.

The pandemic-era bus safety rules come as the city school system expects to require that students be masked — if not necessarily vaccinated against Covid-19—when they return to the classroom in-person for the academic year that starts Aug. 30.

Jackson reported Monday that there will not be many changes from this past school year’s plans for school bus safety. Jackson said operating the buses at half capacity, although not mandated, is a goal for ​“on board safety.”

Buses will be disinfected twice a day. All school bus riders and drivers will be required to wear a face mask and will be provided one if they don’t have one handy.

First Student Inc. Corporate Communications Manager Jen Biddinger said the company will be strongly encouraging bus drivers to get vaccinated — but as of now drivers are not being required to get vaccinated. First Student operates the city’s school bus fleet.

There are currently no federal or state mandates requiring social distancing on school buses, Jackson said Monday. Nevertheless, NHPS school buses will have students maintain six feet of social distancing while boarding the bus.

To socially distance, riders will board from back to front when getting on the bus, and then unload from front to back when getting off the bus.

Biddinger added that social distancing will occur to the ​“maximum extent possible.”

During rides bus windows will be kept open, weather permitting, to increase air flow and ventilation.

​“Parents can help by keeping students home from school if they don’t feel well,” Biddinger said in a follow-up email response. ​“Before heading to the bus stop, they should take their student’s temperatures and wash their hands.”

All routes will be developed within the next two weeks, Jackson said. Once routes are developed, bus drivers will be assigned routes.

Bus cards detailing students’ pick up and drop off times and locations will be mailed out in Spanish and English a week before the first day of school on Aug. 30, he said.

Jackson reported that there is a national bus driver shortage due to the Covid pandemic. Hiring bus drivers is becoming increasingly competitive, he added.

“First Student is taking a lot of measures to try to improve the situation right now,” Jackson said.

NHPS has 300 bus drivers committed for the fall, with 46 drivers currently going through training.

According to the NHPS website, transportation is provided to 17,804 NHPS students using approximately 350 buses daily. Jackson said the safety plan will not include doubling the amount of buses.

“Right now we’re not anticipating [a driver shortage] but it could happen because of the competitive nature of hiring bus drivers right now,” Jackson said.