The Douglas County School System will use a new procedure for school bus drop-off, beginning Aug. 7, the first day of school. Now a parent or guardian must be present at the bus stop for children in third grade and below to leave the bus.
A statement from the Douglas School System cites a statistic from the Georgia Division of Family and Children’s Services that children, eight years old and younger, should never be left alone - even for brief periods of time. If a student in grades K-3 has a sibling on the bus who is in the fourth or fifth grade, the younger sibling will be allowed to exit the bus with the older sibling.
If a parent, guardian or parent/guardian designee is not present at the bus stop to receive the child or if the child appears to have no appropriate supervision, the student will be taken back to the school. The bus driver must be able to see the parent/guardian so that proper identification can be made - possibly with photo ID. The parent should be at the bus stop five minutes before the expected bus arrival time and be outside of the car. Parents must come to the door of the bus to present proper identification since drivers are not allowed to leave the bus.
However, a provision has been made for parents who want their child in grades K-3 to depart the bus at their designated stop without a parent/guardian, sibling or authorized adult at the stop. Those parents must sign a form, indicating this option as their preference and that they absolve the school system of any responsibility once the child leaves the bus.
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