The National Association for Pupil Transportation joins with other national organizations to bring our members timely and useful information related to the current national outbreak of so-called ‘coronavirus’, officially named COVID-19.
LOCAL STATEMENTS
NAPT suggests that school transportation professionals work with their school leadership to issue a statement to parents about cleanliness on their school buses. In the alternative, work with your leadership to incorporate school bus-related information in school-wide statements. Parents should be assured that their schools are taking reasonable steps to keep their children safe AND healthy and those steps include efforts on their yellow school bus.
Consider including information about steps you are taking in this situation:
- how frequently your school buses are cleaned and disinfected (some parents may be interested in what products you are using for this purpose)
- whether you are going to begin extra cleaning between runs
- installation of hand sanitizer units at the entrance of their school buses to allow students to clean their hands prior to boarding
- providing drivers and attendants with face masks could also protect those staff from contact or inhaling droplets that would compromise them
GENERAL GUIDANCE
We also call your attention to some basic guidance about precautions you and your team can take in relation to the COVID-19 virus. This particular list was taken from the website of the National Association of School Nurses:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
- If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
- Find additional tips on how to clean and disinfect schools here.
There are also recommendations related to employees staying home from work when sick. This is often a difficult area to address and is impacted by local contracts, policies and benefits.
LOCAL HEALTH CONTACTS
The federal response is also relying heavily on state and local health departments for implementation and emergency actions (school closures, travel restrictions, etc). School transportation professionals would do well to make contact with local health officials and school health officials to ensure you are ‘in the loop’ on such efforts and that school transportation factors are being considered in such plans.
WEBINAR
NAPT is planning a one-hour webinar tentatively scheduled for Monday, March 23 to discuss these issues as well as some best practices and techniques to ensure cleanliness on our school buses. Such measures benefit our student riders as well as our school bus drivers and attendants. Register Here
RESOURCES
The Centers for Disease Control – www.cdc.gov
US Department of Education – https://www.ed.gov/coronavirus?src=feature
US Department of Health & Human Services – www.hhs.gov
US Transportation Security Administration – www.tsa.gov
National School Boards Association – www.nsba.org
National Association of School Nurses – www.nasn.org
COVID-19 Global Dashboard, Provided by The Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University – https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
***Websites for Your Own State’s Education Department and Health Department***
All of us at NAPT hope you find this information useful and that you remain safe and healthy!
Please check our website and our various social media platforms for further information and resources!