The Aide Is Out and the Route Has Two High-Need Students
At 7:08 a.m., you are scheduled to run Bus 5 with 22 students. The assigned aide calls in sick; no substitute is available. One passenger, a 9-year-old with autism, has an IEP that lists a bus aide and a behavior plan for unbuckling his seat belt and striking the window. Another passenger, age 12, has a severe peanut allergy and carries an epinephrine auto-injector in a backpack. The route has 14 stops and takes 35 minutes. Dispatch says the school nurse can meet the bus at the third stop in 12 minutes, and the child's parent is not answering. You are trained in CPR/First Aid but not authorized to administer epinephrine.
1. Should you begin the route without the aide? Explain your decision.
Read the worked answer
Do not begin the route as scheduled. The IEP identifies an aide as a support, and the behavior plan describes a student who unbuckles and strikes the window. A driver cannot safely manage that behavior while driving 22 students on a 35-minute route. Waiting 12 minutes for the nurse at the third stop does not solve the first two stops or the driving task. Call dispatch and special education; request a substitute aide, an administrator, or a parent meeting at the school. Keep students supervised in a safe area. If no coverage arrives, the district must decide whether to delay or cancel the route, but the driver should not unilaterally transport a student whose plan requires support that is absent.
2. If coverage is arranged, what seating and supervision plan do you use?
Read the worked answer
Seat the 9-year-old near the front in a seat belt the student can be secured in, with an aide or trained adult within reach. Keep the aisle clear and remove objects the student could throw or strike. Give the student a simple warning before stops and keep the ride predictable. Seat the 12-year-old away from the front snack area and enforce a no-eating rule on the bus. Know where the epinephrine auto-injector is, but do not administer it unless your district authorizes and trains you. If the student shows signs of anaphylaxis, call 911 and dispatch immediately and follow the emergency plan.
3. What do you communicate to dispatch and the school about both students?
Read the worked answer
Report that the aide is absent, that the IEP student is aboard and needs the behavior plan, and that the allergy student has the auto-injector. Ask for the nurse to meet the bus earlier than the third stop if possible. Give the school the student names, seat locations, and estimated arrival. Do not disclose medical details to other students or over a public radio channel beyond what is needed for the emergency plan. Document the aide absence and the coverage decision.