Child / Bus riding question

[Daniel]

Is there a law in TN stating how old a child must be to be picked up by the school bus alone? By that I mean without a parent sitting there watching.

 

For instance, I rode the bus that picked up two streets over from my house starting in Kindergarten. If I missed it I walked the mile or so to school (Mt. Olive Elementary in Knoxville).

 

My coworkers, who are not from here but are women and have kids, insist that there is in fact a law that has an age cut off or something. I couldnt find anything. Im 34 but I have lived almost my whole life, certainly my school years, in TN and have never heard of such a thing.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Daniel

[MacGyver]

If there's a law, it's unenforced.

 

I take my oldest daughter to school, but once a week we pass an apartment complex where kids are waiting for the bus.  There are so many kids waiting, that two buses are required to pick them up.  There may be one parent out there waiting with them on a good day.

 

Mind you, I'm in Brentwood, but within our neighborhood parents waiting with kids is a rarity (and one I'm kind of thankful for).  Kids wait at the end of our street on their own.

 

It's kind of funny.  I take my first grader to school because I like to walk into her school and actually see what's going on and I figure she's only going to tolerate it for so long.  We live less than a mile from her school, but she's dying to ride the bus.

[Daniel]

One of them said that if someone wasn't waiting at the bus stop when they drop off that the driver isn't supposed to let them off. I told her she was nuts.

[MacGyver]

Yeah, I tend to agree with you.

 

Our old neighborhood had parents lined up every afternoon.  So much so that I felt like all the parents in cars were probably more of a problem than other cars.

 

The kids I see getting off the bus now don't have a parent in sight.

 

Being in my kids' school every morning, I do hear bus drivers talking about kids fighting at bus stops, goofing off and doing stuff that kids will do when parents aren't around.

 

I'll ask one of our bus drivers next week.

[peejman]

My oldest started kindergarten this year and while my wife takes him to school, I've heard of no such thing.  Sure wasn't that way when I was a kid either.  I pass 2 schools and several bus stops on my way to work.  The only time I see parents at the bus stop is when it's really cold and the kids sit in the car while waiting. 

 

A quick search of TCA (49-6-2118) only shows some regulation about dropping a kid off at a stop other than their normal stop.  Nothing I can find regarding a parent having to be there.  It does state that the "Local Education Agency" (LEA) can adopt policy that is more stringent than the letter of the law, so perhaps it's a local thing.  A call to your local school board might resolve that. 

 

Regardless, tell the helicopter moms to back it down a notch or two. 

 

 

 

edit... some further googling tells me that most areas have a statement that says something like "parents are responsible for the supervision of their children until the bus picks them up and after it drops them off".  But it doesn't specifically say a parent must be present.  Meaning... if some crap goes down at the bus stop before/after the bus, it ain't our problem. 

 

I did find this for Atlanta area schools that does state a parent must be there....  http://www.atlanta.k12.ga.us/Page/28916

 

The parent or designee must accompany their student(s) at the bus stop at drop-off and pick-up for students eight years old and younger.  A student eight years and under may be brought back to their school in the afternoon if a parent, guardian or designee is not present at the bus stop to receive them or if they otherwise appear to have no appropriate supervision.

Edited October 25, 2013 by peejman

[MacGyver]

 

Regardless, tell the helicopter moms to back it down a notch or two. 

I had a colleague who was interviewing for some open developer positions earlier this year.

 

He had a kid who was out of college and in his 20's show up to the interview with mom in tow.  He almost cancelled the interview right there in the lobby, but was intrigued.  He said that in a thirty minute interview the kid tried to answer several questions, but his mom kept cutting him off.  He obviously didn't get the job - and though he didn't cite any particular reason - the mom threatened him with counsel.

 

How'd you like to be that kid's girlfriend coming home for Thanksgiving dinner?

[peejman]

I had a colleague who was interviewing for some open developer positions earlier this year.

 

He had a kid who was out of college and in his 20's show up to the interview with mom in tow.  He almost cancelled the interview right there in the lobby, but was intrigued.  He said that in a thirty minute interview the kid tried to answer several questions, but his mom kept cutting him off.  He obviously didn't get the job - and though he didn't cite any particular reason - the mom threatened him with counsel.

 

How'd you like to be that kid's girlfriend coming home for Thanksgiving dinner?

 

 

I've heard of crap like that happening, but I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it.  Its just beyond my comprehension.

 

Can you imagine turning that kid loose, alone, in Vegas?  "The Hangover" would pale in comparison. 

[JayC]

I'd suspect that won't be a problem for a long while ;)

 

How'd you like to be that kid's girlfriend coming home for Thanksgiving dinner?

 

[Schadenfreude]

Off topic but I didn't start the detour - there was a guy vying for a supervisor position at a place I used to work & he came into the office complaining that his mom wanted to know what was the deal taking so long to decide to hire him, he was mid 20's as well, & he didn't make the cut either.

[Wyldk2]

School bus? What is that?  Lucky you had a school bus to take you. Here in Tullahoma the only time we used a bus was for special trips or to send the sports( basketball/football) at the time to games.

[TripleDigitRide]

I had a colleague who was interviewing for some open developer positions earlier this year.

 

He had a kid who was out of college and in his 20's show up to the interview with mom in tow.  He almost cancelled the interview right there in the lobby, but was intrigued.  He said that in a thirty minute interview the kid tried to answer several questions, but his mom kept cutting him off.  He obviously didn't get the job - and though he didn't cite any particular reason - the mom threatened him with counsel.

 

How'd you like to be that kid's girlfriend coming home for Thanksgiving dinner?

:rofl:

[McGarrett]

Lived in TN all my life and I have never heard of any law like that. I used to be in the bus transportation business up until 2 years ago, also never heard of it there either. Sounds like they made that up.

[Daniel]

I think they really believed it.

[TMF]

Dear God, how did some of us survive childhood? In the mornings I see parents stacked deep at almost every bus stop. I get their concern, but really? There are half a dozen kids at the bus stop. Is someone gonna be able to kidnap half a dozen kids? Is someone gonna drive up, snatch one as the others watch? Doesn't make much sense.

[midtennchip]

Not sure if you are talking about Williamson County Schools or Franklin Special School District. The FAQ for WCS covers it:

http://www.wcs.edu/transportation/faq.htm

Doesn't appear to be such a requirement.

FSSD does not appear to mention it at all:

http://www.fssd.org/images/stories/pdfs/Forms/Transportation/Bus_Rules_Regulations.pdf Edited October 26, 2013 by midtennchip

[Spiffy]

Me thinks the key in this is " they not from here".

I almost had to slap my twin sister because she spouted off some jersey shore crap about getting a gun and not having to wait.

[No_0ne]

I had a colleague who was interviewing for some open developer positions earlier this year.

 

He had a kid who was out of college and in his 20's show up to the interview with mom in tow.  He almost cancelled the interview right there in the lobby, but was intrigued.  He said that in a thirty minute interview the kid tried to answer several questions, but his mom kept cutting him off.  He obviously didn't get the job - and though he didn't cite any particular reason - the mom threatened him with counsel.

 

How'd you like to be that kid's girlfriend coming home for Thanksgiving dinner?

 

... probably took him home and breast-fed him afterwards...

[No_0ne]

For the record, I hold a current bus driver license, and attend in-service yearly.  No such state regulation exists, local policies may vary of course.

[MacGyver]

For the record, I hold a current bus driver license, and attend in-service yearly. No such state regulation exists, local policies may vary of course.

There you have it.