Superintendents, please provide a copy of this memo and the attachments to the transportation managers/directors and request they sign up for Commissioner's Memo notifications for all future messages.
At the request of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS), the Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation (Division) will conduct a one-day survey of illegal passing incidents involving school district buses. NASDPTS and the Division will use the results to determine the prevalence of illegal passing of school buses and to help improve safety countermeasures at the state and national level.
It is extremely important that all Arkansas school districts ensure all their drivers participate in the one-day survey. Each school district’s submissions will be published in a report at the next meeting of the Commission for Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation, forwarded to all appropriate State of Arkansas agencies and legislators, and published on the Division website.
On Wednesday, April 24, 2019, each school district’s school bus operators should observe any instances of motorists illegally passing the school bus and report the incidents to his/her supervisor. Drivers should use the attached reporting form.
Please direct your drivers to the bottom of the form where they are instructed to “report only illegal passes that occur while the bus driver is stopped with red warning lights flashing and stop arm(s) deployed in full compliance with our state training and procedures.”
Please instruct all drivers to pay attention to all safety precautions. As always, the driver’s primary duty is to the safety of the students.
School districts should record the district totals and report them using the online survey provided by the following link, https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7XSQ89G, between April 25, 2019, and May 1, 2019.
School districts should submit results for every driver even if no violations occur.