New state law will not allow children to cross over lane to climb aboard or get off school bus

When Vermilion Parish students return to school in August, the process in which they get on and off buses could be vastly different.
House Bill No. 600, authored by Rep. Neil C. Abramson, goes into effect in August.
The new law will require bus drivers to drop off and pick up students at locations that do not force the student to cross traffic lanes.
In other words, if the driver is dropping off a student at a stop on the right side of the street, a student who lives across the street cannot get off at that stop. The driver would have to come back around to drop that student off.
“That process is going to add time,” Vermilion Parish Transportation Supervisor Ken Small said. “It’s going to add man-hour time and could result in kids getting to school late. You have to pick them up and drop them off the same way.
“How do you organize the time?”
Adding drivers and routes is not a viable option for the parish.
“I don’t have enough drivers to cover more routes,” Small said. “We are looking for some subs right now, let alone trying to cover more routes.”
The cost would have an impact, as well.
“The man ours it would take to pay people to do that would be enormous.”
Again, the law is slated to take effect in August. Vermilion Parish Superintendent Jerome Puyau said school districts are awaiting an opinion from Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell. Puyau said the issue will be discussed further during next week’s parish school board meeting.
“We are working with the leaders of the Louisiana School Board Association and authors of the bill to help resolve this issue prior to the beginning of school,” Puyau emphasized.
Small said based on discussions he has had with other transportation officials around the state, something will be worked out to ease the effect the law could have on every district in the state.
“I understand this law was meant to help issues in some bigger areas like New Orleans and Baton Rouge,” Small said. “There are a lot of others questioning it right now. My feeling is they are going to get it looked at and get things cleared up.
“Many are questioning what the law is going to do to their district.”
Small said he is disappointed that not much word was put out on the new law until recently. He said law makers did not consult the Louisiana Association of Transportation Officials in regards to the law.
“They never got any input from us,” Small said. “We are going to operate as best we can under the law.”
Safety is at the heart of the issue. Small said that is always on his mind, as well as the minds of those on his staff.
“Student safety is priority number one,” Small affirmed. “We will never drop a kid off where he or she has to cross heavy traffic. We only do that on small roads in the city or rural areas. If a kid lives on a busy street like Charity Street (in Abbeville), that bus driver is going to come back around and drop the student off in the right side of the street.
“Our bus drivers use common sense when it comes to keeping students safe.”