LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new bus referral process at Jefferson County Public Schools will begin Wednesday, according to a district spokesperson.
It's an effort to better support the district's bus drivers after nearly 150 bus drivers called out sick earlier this month, canceling more than 100 routes, over lack of student discipline and long bus routes.
Driver concerns were the focus of a WDRB Investigates story last week.Â
The new process moves 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, getting straight to the school in real-time.
Carolyn Callahan, chief of communications for JCPS, said every bus compound will now receive daily, in-person support from a "Climate and Culture staff member."
Bus drivers will 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.
The district said school administrators will then work with the bus drivers and compound coordinators on bus suspensions and safety issues.
Last week, Callahan told WDRB News the new process will allow drivers to directly communicate concerns with schools and see the administration's response to their referrals.Â
JCPS spokesman Mark Hebert previously said referrals don't necessarily correspond to incidents, so each referral doesn't represent a fight on a bus.
"Referrals is the number of write-ups by bus drivers regarding student behavior," Hebert said last week. "So if four kids are involved in an incident on a bus, there would be four referrals. And one student could have multiple referrals on the same bus ride for different behavior. For instance, if they are using profanity as well as throwing items, the driver could send in two referrals on the same student."
Teamsters Local 783 President John Stovall, who represents JCPS bus drivers, said he's working with the district and the Jefferson County School Board to improve conditions for drivers. But he said many drivers are getting fed up, citing a number of reasons why they're seeing so many fights lately.
Related Stories:
- As student behavior drives Louisville bus drivers to take a stand, JCPS outlines its plan to help
- Thousands of JCPS students absent Monday after more than 100 bus routes canceled
- JCPS cancels more bus routes for Monday, says 143 bus drivers have called out
- After nearly 90 JCPS bus drivers call out Friday, union president says to expect more of the same Monday
- Some JCPS bus drivers plan to call out Friday and Monday in protest of long routes, lack of district support
- 'Difficult decisions' | Dr. Pollio says transportation issues could continue 2 more years without changes
- Lack of student discipline is creating problems for drivers, JCPS bus union leader says
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