From saving on school supplies to the impact of federal cuts, the WTOP team is studying up on hot-button topics in education across the D.C. region. Follow on air and online in our series, “WTOP Goes Back to School” this August and September.
The weeks before schools open are packed with back-to-school training and briefings — not just for teachers, but for bus drivers as well.
Brittani Florey, a regional school prevention and intervention specialist with the Maryland Center for School Safety, is among those working with school districts and their employees on safety issues.
Recently, she spoke before groups of bus drivers, reminding them they play an important role in school safety — one that goes beyond delivering students to school safely.
“They’re the first people that see our students when they get on the bus. They’re the last people that see them at the end of the day,” she said.
What bus drivers see can offer insights into the welfare of a child.
“Let’s say you have that student that, for the first three months of school, gets on the bus every day and they’re so happy, and all of the sudden that student doesn’t talk anymore, they sit by themselves, maybe they’re being picked on.”
Florey said drivers can tip school officials that maybe there’s something that a counselor needs to look into.
But there’s another issue that’s come up — parent behavior.
“This last year, we have seen incidents of parents trying to board school buses,” Florey said.
The Maryland State Department of Education did create a flyer that was distributed by several school systems in the 2025 school year, including Prince George’s County public schools.
“We did put out some literature,” Florey said. “It was for the bus drivers to know where their rights are, but it was also a reminder to parents that that is not the appropriate time to do that.”
Florey said parents or caregivers who have concerns about a bus route, drop-off locations, or issues of student behavior on the buses should contact their school administrators. Drivers, she said, must be able to concentrate on their task.
When drivers are belted into their seats, she said, “and they have 20 to 30 kids on a bus, this is not the time to address any type of concern that a parent or caregiver may have at the time.”
The flyer provided last year explained that it’s a crime to interfere with the operations of a school bus. Violations can result in a fine of up to $1,000, 90 days in jail or both, according to the flyer.
Florey said, just as members of the public have to be buzzed into get into a school building, “a school bus should be no different. You can’t just enter a school bus because it is an extension of the school.”
School bus drivers are trained to remain calm and redirect a parent or caregiver if they do want to engage in a discussion or resolve a conflict.
Another issue that comes up every school year, is refreshing drivers’ understanding of what to do when a school bus stop arm is deployed.
Drivers on both sides of a road — whether it’s a two-lane road, a two-lane road with a center turn lane or a multilane road — must stop and wait for the bus driver to either allow students to board or get off the bus and cross the street safely. The only exception to the law is if the road is a divided highway; that is, it has dirt, grass or other barrier in the median, Florey said.
Florey said when a school bus driver engages the yellow flashing lights, “that means to slow down” and prepare to stop. “And when the red flashing is starting, that means you need to stop in both directions.”
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