School bus driver still not cleared to drive Catholic routes

The driver who kicked a student off his school bus for misbehaviour still doesn't know if he'll be allowed to drive for the Edmonton Catholic School Board, even after receiving an apology, according to his employer.

The school board banned the driver from its routes after he removed a student 10 blocks before his step last week.

When the driver's employer, Cunningham Transport, released a video on Monday that shows what happened before the incident, the school board issued an apology.

The bus company said the school board hasn't told them if the driver can work its routes again. A Catholic school spokesperson said the board doesn't know either.

• Bus driver wins apology from school board after kicking off student
• Student kicked off bus 'threatened' driver, bus company says

The video shows a Grade 7 student punching and kicking a much younger child. A Grade 8 student is then seen swinging a duffel or hockey bag and hitting the bus driver in the head. The first student is later seen arguing with the driver before he is kicked off the bus.

The company said the boy threatened the driver.

The two students were suspended from the bus for a week, but were allowed to return Wednesday.

The school board said they assigned a chaperone to the route for the first day of the students' return. The bus company said that chaperone never showed up, but they had a trainer on-board to supervise.

Parent Tracey Freeman said she would like all bus routes to be supervised, so the driver can focus on the road. 

"It would be better if there were someone else on the bus so that he could drive safely," she said.

The school bus industry hopes the dashcam video will help drivers find support from parents and schools.

"The school bus we consider an extension of the classroom," Brenda Johnson, president of the Student Transportation Association of Alberta, told Edmonton AM host Mark Connolly on Wednesday. "The bus driver cannot be left out by himself on these situations."

While the behaviour in the video may be extreme, rowdy and distracting behaviour is not unusual, Johnson said.

"This driver was faced with a tremendously difficult situation," she said. "Imagine trying to drive safely through traffic when you have that kind of activity taking place on the bus."

Edmonton school bus driver Jessica Syniak told Connolly bad behaviour is not only distracting, but stressful.

"It's very difficult to try and pay attention to people and cars trying to drive around you and children who are causing chaos in the back."

Johnson said drivers cannot be left on their own.

"This driver is probably driving a school bus with 60 kids on board from different peer groups. You're trying to do all the things required of a school bus driver, as well as monitor those students through a mirror that's 10 by 24 inches", he said.

"The expectation for student behaviour needs to be clearly outlined, and the consequences as well."