WHAT IS SCHOOL BUS WATCH?
School Bus Watch is a security awareness program that has been created and
designed by security experts and representatives of three major national
school transportation organizations in a cooperative effort to teach school
transportation professionals – including
nearly 500,000 school bus drivers in particular - how to identify, evaluate and
report unusual activity that might pose a threat to school transportation safety
and security.
WHO ARE THE PROGRAM SPONSORS?
School Bus Watch is sponsored by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) in
cooperation with the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT),
the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services
(NASDPTS), and the National School Transportation Association (NSTA). A task
force comprised of representatives from each of the school transportation
industry organizations worked together to adapt ATA’s Highway Watch® (HWW)
program for use in school transportation.
Highway Watch® is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In 2002, DHS partnered with the ATA to develop and provide security and safety training to approximately 30 million highway transportation professionals across America. HWW is the work product of that collaborative effort.
Although School Bus Watch and HWW are similar, they are separate and distinct programs. The HWW program is offered by state trucking associations; School Bus Watch is offered by the pupil transportation industry. State trucking associations are not authorized to teach School Bus Watch.
WHO SHOULD BE TRAINED?
Anyone who works in school transportation should be trained to be aware of
the hazards they may face when doing their work. This includes the threat of
terrorist activities. School bus drivers in particular should have a basic
understanding of terrorism and should be able to identify potential terrorist
activities. This will enable them to play an even more important role in ensuring
the safety of their communities in general and their passengers in particular.
HOW DOES SCHOOL BUS WATCH WORK?
The basic premise of School Bus Watch is O-A-R . . . observe, assess, and report.
Providing law enforcement with accurate, detailed descriptions of vehicles or people involved in possible criminal or terrorist activity is very important. With close to 500,000 school bus drivers on the road every school day, we have an unrivaled infrastructure to implement a security plan that encourages people to “say something if you see something”. School Bus Watch teaches participants, especially school bus drivers who are out and about in their communities every day, how to be an accurate witness and how to make a valuable report.
For example, if a School Bus Watch graduate observes a life-threatening activity, they – like every other citizen - are instructed to use the nationwide 9-1-1 emergency systems to contact law enforcement or public safety services
But, what if the observed activity or incident is simply “unusual”? School Bus Watch graduates are taught to use a toll free number and contact a call center and make a “good report”. That information is then forwarded directly to law enforcement and sent to a national Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) where it can be analyzed and shared with federal intelligence agencies.
WHAT DOES SCHOOL BUS WATCH TEACH?
While we have no way of knowing specifically what a terrorist operation will
attack, there are certain criteria that terrorists typically use to plan
an attack. School Bus Watch covers:
• How terrorists pick their targets;
• Elements of an attack;
• The typical terrorism timeline;
• How to identify unusual behavior or activity; and
• Common and typical weapons used by terrorists
WHO ARE TERRORISTS?
The goal of School Bus Watch is to educate school bus drivers about what to
look for, not who. It is important to understand that terrorists are not
all alike. Stereotyping and profiling are neither fair nor useful in identifying
terrorists. It is the activity that may identify the terrorist.
School bus drivers must be alert for unusual activity. From a security standpoint, it is a big mistake to focus on what an individual’s ethnicity appears to be. Timothy McVeigh, Eric Robert Rudolph and American Taliban all would escape our notice if we only focused on an individual’s ethnicity. Instead, we must focus on unusual activities that are indicators of potential terrorist or violent acts.
IS THIS REALLY NECESSARY?
Absolutely.
In 2004, terrorists from Chechnya conducted a major operation at a school in Beslan, Russia. More than 325 hostages, including more than 150 children, died in one of the most pernicious terrorist attacks in recent history. Most of the dead were killed when a bomb exploded in a gymnasium. Many other victims were shot in the back as they attempted to flee. This incident attracted international media attention and drew specific attention to the fact that schools and the children who attend them are a very real potential target for terrorists. This is especially relevant when coupled with the fact that information about the American education system and infrastructure has been found on computers belonging to terrorist suspects in the Middle East.
In America, school buses could provide an opportunity for terrorists to attack one of our core values as well as one of our most precious resources. If our drivers are uninformed or unprepared, school buses may be considered an easy (soft) target for terrorist organization. School bus drivers must therefore be alert and on the lookout at all times for unusual activity.
HOW LONG IS THE TRAINING?
The School Bus Watch train-the-trainer program takes about 90 minutes; the
driver training takes anywhere from 60 to 75 minutes. It has been designed
to serve as either pre-service or in-service driver training and can be taught
year round.
WHERE AND WHEN IS THIS TRAINING AVAILABLE?
School Bus Watch is available via a nationwide network of ATA-approved instructors.
Contact Samuel Garza at 703-838-1929 to learn who is available to teach the
course in your area.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
TRAIN-THE-TRAINER PROGRAM:
An ATA-approved contract service provider will come to your location and offer
a train-the-trainer session at no cost if there is a minimum of 20 driver trainers.
If you have fewer than 20 driver trainers, consider partnering with another
nearby operator to hold a regional workshop for at least 20 driver trainers.
If you cannot assemble a minimum of 20 driver trainers, you may have to pay
the cost of expenses for a trainer; this would include, at a minimum, the cost
of travel, lodging and meals. There may also be a daily stipend for these services.
There are some special circumstances when ATA will consider sending one of its trainers for free when there are less than 20 driver trainer trainees. Please contact Samuel Garza at 703-838-1929 for details.
DRIVER TRAINING PROGRAM:
Your own ATA-trained trainers can conduct driver training at any time. There
is no cost for the School Bus Watch Training Manual and other workshop handouts;
your driver trainer(s) will be able to secure these materials from the School
Bus Watch Program administrators.
WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?
Additional information about the School Bus Watch program is unavailable at
this time. Please check this web site in early 2006 for additional information.
All other inquiries may be made to the School Bus Information Council at 888-FOR-SBIC
(888-367-7242).
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