Audit faults oversight of busing
Report says state Education Department must ensure districts hire qualified staff
Albany The state Education Department must do more to ensure that school districts hire qualified transportation staff and school bus drivers, and that transportation employees get required safety training, according to an audit released by state Comptroller Tom Dinapoli’s office.
Dinapoli’s review found a significant amount of missing documentation regarding required training for safety as well as discrimination and harassment.
The report indicated that a lack of communication among state education officials; the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute (PTSI), which provides the training courses; and school districts and busing contractors resulted in an unclear understanding of state requirements.
Without proper training, transportation employees may not know what to do in an emergency, Dinapoli said.
“Parents need to have assurances from their local school district that the men and women transporting their children to and from school are qualified and have received the required training,” he said in a statement. The audit found SED “is not doing enough to monitor districts’ compliance. Stricter oversight by the department will lead to better-trained bus drivers, monitors and attendants and a safer ride for students.”
Approximately 2.3 million children are transported to school daily across the state, divided roughly equally among school district-owned buses, contracted buses and public transportation, according to the report.
Between July 2016 and June 2019, the Education Department used only a small fraction of the compliance record reviews that its contract with the PTSI allowed, the audit found.
Education officials told auditors that historically, they have ordered PTSI to conduct record reviews only for school districts and busing contractors with ongoing problems and complaints against them.
The Education Department has increased the number of maximum reviews in their current contract with the institute, but so far no strategy has been developed on how to use those additional reviews, the report states.
Auditors also noted that PTSI’S school bus accident database is incomplete and does not account for all reportable accidents statewide.
And because of inconsistent protocols employed by school districts and busing contractors, the audit found that the Education Department can’t be reasonably assured that all supervisors are monitoring employees for reasonable suspicion of drug and alcohol use prior to driving their routes, according to the report.
While monitoring transportation employees for drug and alcohol use is not the state’s responsibility, the safe and efficient transportation of children is, the audit states.
The report makes a series of recommendations for education officials to strengthen oversight over school bus personnel.
According to Education Department officials, the department was already in the process of taking some of the steps recommended by Dinapoli’s office when the review was being conducted, but education officials are looking at ways to improve outreach to districts and bus contractors on these issues.
Staff will work with local districts across the state to ensure that all reportable accidents are reported to the department and the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute, a department spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“The safety of students is of utmost importance and the school bus is an extension of our schools,” the statement reads. “... [ W]hile transportation is largely a local function, and there are limits to the degree of standardization that can be achieved, NYSED will also continue to seek ways to work with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the NYS DMV, school districts and private contractors to create standards and consistency where possible.”