District Administration - July 2007 - (Page 29)

SECURITY Inspecting engines was part of the annual America’s Best Technician/Inspector Competition, organized by the National Association of Pupil Transportation, in Georgia last August. received $15 billion for security enhancements; Amtrak had received $5 billion; the transit industry had received $117 million; and the intercity bus industry had received $35 million. The school transportation industry—providing over 10 billion passenger trips a year—has received nothing.” It also urged the administration to ensure that the nation’s largest public transportation system is at least as secure as other ground transportation modes. But Martin says the federal govern- ment has been largely unresponsive, and he concedes the situation has been frustrating. “In terms of helping our industry, we’re the stepchild,” Martin says. “They haven’t done anything for us. Pilots have steel doors that prevent access. There’s nothing that prevents anyone from getting directly to a driver on a school bus. We’re very frustrated that Homeland Security hasn’t acknowledged that.” In recent congressional testimony, school security expert Ken Trump, president of National School Safety and Secu- rity Services, a private consulting ﬁrm based in Cleveland, accused Homeland Security of shortchanging the nation’s schools. Testifying before the House Education and Labor Committee, Trump stated that he believes the downplaying of a potential threat reﬂects a national reluctance to confront the possibility that school buses pose a potential terrorist target. “Schools clearly ﬁt the deﬁnition of a soft target, and an attack upon our schools would have not only a devastating impact on Americans emotionally but a severe impact on the American economy if the business of education shut downs and/or is disrupted due to a catastrophic terror attack upon our educational infrastructure,” Trump said. The Transportation Security Administration, meanwhile, disputes claims that the agency has overlooked school bus safety. The TSA oversees a program called Highway Watch, in which commercial drivers, including school bus drivers, are taught to look for suspicious persons and activities. The program is designed to take advantage of truck and bus drivers Design Shift Makes Buses Safer ON THE OUTSIDE, THE FAMILIAR YELLOW SCHOOL BUS—THE color is mandated by law in all 50 states—seems unchanged since the days when Dwight Eisenhower occupied the White House. But in recent years a host of design changes have made school buses even safer. Many are commonplace today. Stop arms on the sides of buses and cross arms extending from the front, for example, both ensure that students keep their distance from the bus once they disembark and help drivers see students as they cross in front of the bus, as some fatal accidents occurred in the past when drivers could not see the children. More advanced lights have improved drivers’ visibility, and higher seat backs have promoted the concept of compartmentalization, in which strongly built, closely spaced, high-backed seating creates a protective envelope that prevent students from being tossed about in an accident. Of course, the safety value of seat belts has been contested for as long as there have been school buses. In recent years, some states have passed laws requiring districts to install seat belts in buses. New York and New Jersey were the ﬁrst—in 1989 and 1992, respectively. But while New York only mandated installation, New Jersey required that students actually use them. More recently, Florida has passed a mandatory seat belt law for students on school buses, and California became the ﬁrst state to mandate both a seat belt and shoulder harness on all buses. The science on seat belts remains inconclusive. The same National Highway Trafﬁc Safety Administration (NHSTA) study that lauded the safety record of school buses concluded that lap belts had “little, if any, beneﬁ t in reducing serious-to-fatal injuries in severe frontal crashes.” In those circumstances, the study found, the lap/shoulder belts could even increase the risk of serious neck injuries and, among young passengers, abdominal injuries. Still, the study indicated that the typical student was better off buckling up. “Any increased risks associated with the use of lap belts in small school buses are more than offset by preventing ejections,” the study found. “The use of the combination lap/shoulder belts could provide some beneﬁ t, unless misused. Lap/shoulder belts can be misused, and NHTSA’s testing showed that serious neck injury and perhaps abdominal injury could result when lap/shoulder belts are misused.” www.DistrictAdministration.com July 2007 29 http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - July 2007

Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
News Update
Facilities/Construction Update
Curriculum Update
Inside the Law
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Cover Story: Rethinking School Bus Safety
Broadening Collective Bargaining
Searching for Subs
Jersey City’s Broad Appeal
Improving Nutrition in Schools
New Products
Computer Literature
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
Research Corner
Problem Solution
Online Edge
Speaking Out
Supervisor’s Opinion
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration - July 2007