My sister sent me a link to a story about a bus driver in an Illinois school district who forced a student off the bus 3 miles from school when the driver learned that the student was on the bus “illegally.” Apparently this student had ridden the bus on many occasions “legally” so it was not a case of a “strange person” on the bus that might be up to no good!
I don’t know about all of the school districts everywhere in the country, but the school district that I work for, the “rule” is that students need a note from a parent signed by a school administrator to allow a student to ride a different bus than the one originally assigned to.
If I had been that bus driver, I would have gotten on the two-way radio to the dispatch office and notified them about the student on the bus that was not supposed to be on the bus, and ask for instructions on what to do. I certainly would NOT have pulled off and forced the child to leave the bus. You just don’t DO that! That is totally unacceptable and irresponsible! The story does not say whether or not the driver of the bus was a substitute, or whether the driver was the regular driver, but it does says that the driver was fired. Although I have sympathy for substitute drivers, since putting the student off the bus is a violation of policy, and the driver should have just had the common sense to radio dispatch, I would have to say that was the appropriate thing to do. But it is a shame, nonetheless.