LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jefferson County Public Schools has suspended hundreds of students per month for bus incidents since instituting a new expedited referral process in November.
Data obtained via open records request showed 295 suspensions were levied by the district in November, the first month of the new program. In December, there were more than 400.
"The new system was designed to address bus driver issues more readily and ensure drivers receive more timely feedback about the referral process," Carolyn Callahan, chief of communications for JCPS, said in a written statement to WDRB News. "Our exit interview data shows that behavior is not the main reason bus drivers have left their positions. The length of routes and personal medical and family issues were the top reasons bus drivers told us they were leaving their positions. Of 42 drivers asked, only 3 cited behavior as their reason for leaving."
A change in start times back in August created a slew of problems for JCPS. What started with the district canceling six days of class in August to figure out how to better implement its new busing plan has continued with ongoing driver shortages and multi-hour delays. Middle school and high school instruction previously started at 7:40 a.m., while elementary schools started at 9:05 a.m. The new plan adopted this year by JCPS includes nine different start times ranging from 7:40 a.m. to as late as 10:40 a.m.
For the four months since the referral process changed, there were 1,192 suspensions, JCPS data showed.
Behavior aboard the buses has been a key issue for drivers. And more than halfway through the school year, Denise Miller, a district bus driver, said it's still a problem, kids fighting and smoking regularly.
"They throw pencils. They throw erasers. They throw garbage," Miller said. "Whatever they can get in their hands, they throw."
Miller traveled about 100 miles per day last year in his job as a bus driver for JCPS. But her job has gotten significantly more difficult since then, a change in start times back in August making her days extremely busy.
She now drivers more than 300 miles per day, and on those long bus routes, she sees it all.
There are regular reports of fights aboard buses, causing headaches for drivers and students and leaving parents concerned. A fight Aug. 18 on a bus involving Stuart Academy students started with some name-calling, parents said. In September, an Eastern High School student and an adult were shot in Louisville's Russell neighborhood after police said a fight started on a JCPS bus and continued when they got off.
A few days later, a fight broke out on a bus with Atherton High School students on board. Students were yelling at each other, one threw a punch, and one student was left with a bruise to the forehead. Another fight on a Westport Middle School bus in October in St. Matthews left parents like Stephanie Hair concerned with her child on that bus.
"We still have problems with students and parents," Miller said.
'It still don't solve the problem'
The old referral process was a disciplinary paper form that drivers filled out. In November, that process moved from a paper system — where the bus driver hands off a note to the compound coordinator who then sorts through those and sends them to school administration — to an online system. Bus drivers still fill out bus referrals listing everything from cussing to harassment to fighting to sexually inappropriate behavior. But now, they hand their paper referrals directly to a staff member, receive weekly updates on resolutions and will have a point-of-contact with a designated staff member. The staff member will enter the referrals from bus drivers into the computer system and update bus compound coordinators about student behaviors and resolutions.
In November, the first month of the new process, data shows 1,095 bus referrals were written for nine school days. In December, there were 1,485 bus referrals. In January, there were 845. And for two weeks in February, there were 862 bus referrals.
For all four months, the No. 1 reason students received bus referrals was for not staying in their bus seat. After that, the top issues were then hitting students and fighting.
The schools with the largest number of bus referrals in February were:
- Westport Middle School: 36
- Wellington Elementary School :34
- Shelby Academy: 29
- Stuart Academy: 27
- Atkinson Academy: 25
"We can write referrals all day long and they go straight to the principal, and the principal has to make a decision," Miller said. "And they do take them off the bus for three days, but it still don't solve the problem."
But Callahan said the district believes — anecdotally — there have been more bus suspensions since the new program started.
"We have systems in place to review and respond to bus referral data," Callahan said. "There are also numerous variables to consider when looking at school bus referral numbers.
"Suspension length varies based on each incident."
Miller said bus drivers need parents' help.
"Cooperate," she said. "Talk to your children. Just be responsible. I think some of these parents need to look at the way their child acts on the bus. ... The problem is really the students and the parents. If we can get the students under control and get the parents to work with us, we can probably solve this problem."
Callahan said federal privacy laws prevent JCPS from release videos of incidents on its buses, but parents can follow district procedures to view incidents involving their own children.
As JCPS figures out what to do about its busing situation for the next school year, Miller hopes the bad behavior gets under control soon.
"As with many of our systems, we regularly review and evaluate what’s working and what might need to improve," Callahan said. "We continue to seek input from bus drivers and transportation staff on the referral system."
Miller said, despite troubles on the bus for so many bus drivers, there's a reason why she continues to stay on the job.
"I love my job," she said. "I love my co-workers. I love my compound. That's what keeps me going."
Last year, there were only two start times. Middle school and high school instruction started at 7:40 a.m., while elementary schools started at 9:05 a.m. The new plan adopted this year by JCPS includes nine different start times ranging from 7:40 a.m. to as late as 10:40 a.m. (WDRB Photo)
JCPS Bus Coverage:
- JCPS committee reviewing all transportation options, including one not previously discussed in-depth
- Kentucky House committee passes resolution that would create task force to 'monitor' JCPS
- JCPS board members weigh in on transportation options up for consideration
- JCPS considers solutions for transportation and dealing with behavior issues on buses
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