Seat belts are among the topics of discussion for the task force, which is charged with making recommendations to the state Legislature by Jan. 31.
Jefferson Parish Public School System in New Orleans renews its contract with the school bus company for five more years. First Student will add more than 60 new buses over the course of the new contract.
At a bus stop in Lafayette, Louisiana, police say that a 19-year-old and a 15-year-old pulled out guns and pointed them at the bus.
The Louisiana student allegedly punched the driver in the face until she went unconscious. Another student stepped on the brakes and pulled the shifter to stop the bus.
Legislators have recently proposed bills that would require school buses to pick up and drop off students on the side of the road that they live on. That may sound good on paper, but in practice it would drive up transportation costs and bus ride times.
An opinion from the state attorney general determines that districts should begin the process of complying with Act 654, which prohibits school bus drivers from picking up or dropping off students in locations where they would have to cross traffic lanes, but that the act gives no specified completion date, letting districts take their time to implement changes.
The law, which was intended to address safety problems in metropolitan areas, prohibits school bus drivers from loading or unloading students at school or near their homes in a way that would cause them to have to cross traffic lanes. School districts statewide are concerned that the law will cause them to double their travel times, increase their budgets and inconvenience parents.
According to police in Baton Rouge, La., a student had an altercation with another student on the bus. When the suspect gets off of the bus, he runs into his home, grabs a handgun and fires three shots at the bus. No one is injured in the shooting.
Lillie Lewis of the Tensas Parish School Board receives the 2013-14 Statewide Bus Driver of the Year award from the Property Casualty Alliance of Louisiana, and Shelley Wilkenson of Midlothian (Texas) Independent School District receives the award from the alliance's Texas chapter. Awards given through this program are based on such driver attributes as leadership, attitude, perseverance, student and parent relationships, and technical skill.
According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, a 37-year-old man shows up at his ex-girlfriend’s residence on Monday morning and boards her school bus with a firearm as she is about to start her route. The man allegedly demands at gunpoint that the woman drive to his house and then forces her inside, but he reportedly releases her as police arrive.
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