COLUMBIA, S.C. — With the fall semester of school just weeks away, many parents are wondering what a ride on the school bus will look like amid the coronavirus pandemic.
News19 checked-in with Richland School District Two to see how they're planning.
Will Anderson, their Chief Operations Officer, offered a walk-through starting with when a student arrives to the bus. He said, in following with new state guidance, there will not be a temperature check, but the driver will ask how the student is feeling.
"Make sure you've got your mask on. If they don't have a mask, we'll have disposable masks to give to the student to put a mask on, and we'll have a bottle of sanitizer for the kids to get a squirt," Anderson said. "Then the driver will say, 'Alright, make sure you make your way to your assigned seat."
The bus will be loaded at a limited capacity with students sitting from the back to the front. The district will try to put one student to a seat, but families can sit together.
"All the windows in the bus will be down and the air conditioner will be going," Anderson said.
The buses will be disinfected by drivers between routes and then again with electrostatic sprayers. Watch a demonstration of the cleaning process HERE.
"We're going to be following all of the protocols. Making sure they're clean, wearing their masks and, like we always do, the drivers are going to be prepared for all this and just excited to have your kids back on the bus riding with us," Anderson said.
The buses will remain empty for a little while longer, at least in Richland Two. They plan to start in a virtual capacity and transition to a hybrid model.
You can find more details on their return plan on the district's website.
