Busing Update

Our Transportation Department prioritizes the safety and wellbeing of our students and bus drivers. This re-entry busing update provides important information for families and students about protocols for Fall 2020.

Since the abrupt shut down in March, School Divisions and Transportation Departments across the province have been hard at work putting plans in place to make sure that students can ride to and from school in as safe a fashion as possible. Based on recommendations by Alberta Health Services and following their advice, we have been developing plans for cleaning buses, loading and unloading students safely, what PPE if any drivers and students should wear, student health screening and student behavior expectations to maintain safety of everyone on a school bus.

Livingstone Range School Division would like you to know that we have implemented a new cleaning protocol on all school buses in the division. Drivers will be disinfecting the interior of the buses and all high touch surfaces twice daily, at the end of the morning and afternoon runs with cleaner that will kill 99.9% of germs and viruses (including COVID-19). Additional deep cleaning of our buses will be undertaken as needed.

Drivers have been informed that wearing masks is mandatory. The Province is providing each driver and all students with two reusable face masks. Students in Grade 4-12 will be required to wear masks on the bus, while masks remain optional for Kindergarten-Grade 3 students. Disposable masks will be provided to any student that needs one for the bus ride to school on the first day. The seat directly behind the driver will be kept empty when possible as another safety protocol. Each bus will have hand sanitizer that drivers and students can utilize as required.

Parents are expected to perform the Alberta Health Services screening questionnaire on each of their children before sending them to school. Should a child have any of the symptoms on the questionnaire, they must be kept at home for the safety of everyone. We understand that children may be riding the school bus and become ill even after having presented no symptoms when leaving home. In cases like that, we have outfitted each bus with some disposable masks and if needed, we will have that student wear one. We will separate the student from the rest of the students riding the bus and inform the school to have the parent meet that bus as it gets to the school.

In order to minimize students walking past each other numerous times on the bus, we are implementing loading buses from the back to the front and unloading from the front to the back, wherever possible. Students will be directed by the driver as to which seat they will be sitting in for the foreseeable future on each route. Students will be assigned seating in family units so that we can do our best to protect everyone on the bus.

We will need parents to discuss with their children how important it will be that each of them are sitting properly and following all the rules of the bus. Now more than ever we will need each and every student to do their best to follow the rules as stated in our busing brochure. Riding a school bus is a wonderful privilege and because of the pandemic it is more important than ever that we follow the rules to ensure the health and safety of all students and drivers. Parents will be contacted if their child is choosing not to follow the rules to allow the parent to help their child understand the importance of following them. If students continue to choose not to follow the rules they will have their bus privileges revoked and parents will need to make their own arrangements to get them to and from the school until such time as a meeting can be had between the Parents, the Principal and the Transportation Coordinator so a resolution can be made.

We are excited to be back at school and trust each student is as well. We will be doing our best to continue to provide a safe and healthy ride to and from school and trust all families will do their best to help with meeting that expectation. Should you have any specific questions or concerns, please call the Transportation office at 403-625-3356 or send an email to mcgalep@lrsd.ab.ca and we will be happy to answer them.