New rules for young children at bus stops

There are some new rules for parents in West Virginia who have young children riding the bus.

They need to be supervised at the bus stop by a trusted adult or school officials can kick them off the bus for good.

While the policy is gaining attention with some parents, it's actually a loosening of the rules.

Juggling two kids on the playground is not easy, but still a lot less difficult than the job associated with being a single mom for Tonya Isaac.

"It's really difficult, it really is because if I can't make it, there's no one for me to lean on," she said.

That includes meeting her second grader Kyle and third grader Natalie at the bus stop every morning and every afternoon. They are both students at Wayne Elementary.

"If the bus driver doesn't see my car or myself, they will not let them off."

That's not an easy challenge as Isaac juggles her work schedule as a manager at restaurant.

"No, not at all, easy," she said.

But new guidelines from the state advise all districts make sure parents of kindergartners up to third graders provide supervision at the bus stop.

"The point of this policy is to make sure the students are protected,” said Jedd Flowers, the Director of Communications at Cabell County Schools.

He said the old guidelines required all students to be supervised, even high school seniors. New guidelines are now more realistic with a focus on age groups who really need the help in situations like a bus not making it to the stop because of an accident or another reason where the child could be left alone for an entire day.

While every county does it differently, he said the new guideline reflects the general policy already in place in Cabell County.

"As long as the bus driver can see that the student is being supervised, if they can see the parent watching or the guardian or the neighbor or whoever you have established, if they can see that student is being taken care of and looked after, then it will be okay."

That also includes situations where parents on the same block may coordinate schedules and take turns so only one adult watches on any given morning.

If there's a problem, officials will meet with the parents.

"If we can't get a resolution, then we'd have to suspend bus service. But we hope we never get to that," said Flowers.

On one occasion last year, Isaac's kids were bused back to school one afternoon when Natalie forgot a note so she could get on a different bus. It was a little worrying for them and for her, but she's glad the school did the right thing.

"There's a lot of crazy people out there,” she said. “I explained to her, 'Next time you don't have a note, what do you do? You call mom.'"

Kanawha County already as an ID tag system for pre-K to second grade students. Officials are looking to expand up to third grade. Wayne County requires supervision from pre-K to first grade and are considering expanding to up to third grade as well.

Cabell County does not provide busing for any preschoolers.

In Kentucky, guidelines require supervision by a parent or guardian of a preschooler. In practice, Boyd County bus drivers will not drop off 5-year-olds and 6-year-olds unless a parent or adult is present.

In Ohio, there's no parental supervision requirement. Portsmouth city schools tell us if a parent normally meets a student in the afternoon, if that parent is not there, they will bring that child back to the school. But if a student is not normally greeted by a parent, they will drop them off unsupervised.